


Fire, Ice and Lightning

by Phoenix7



Series: Chronicles of the Orange Archipelago [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon GO
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-22 16:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9615587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix7/pseuds/Phoenix7
Summary: For years, an organization has hid in the shadows, tracking down Pokémon and humans alike. When word of a place where many Trainers can gather reaches them, they take the first opportunity to strike from the shadows.The events of this story occur before those of Part 1- Harmony and Dissonance.I don't own most characters, some are owned by Niantic, some by Nintendo, some probably by 4Kids.





	1. The Three Teams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fish71022](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fish71022/gifts).



A large group of Level 5 Trainers from all over Kanto were gathered in the square, some of them talking incessantly, some just waiting in suspense. It was the first of the annual team introductions, and each of them was waiting for the three team leaders to make their appearance. This was the biggest event of the year, more Trainers travelling to Harmony Centre just to see it than to compete in the Indigo League.

A bright burst of light from the stage startled them, and they watched, dumbstruck, at the mini-storm now brewing before them. A young man stepped out of it, his blue eyes bright and spiky blonde hair tousled, flashing a wide grin at a group of cheering yellow-clad Trainers before making his way to the podium.

“Hey there, you guys!” he called. “Are you ready to join Team Instinct?”

“YEAH!” The shouts were deafening.

“That’s awesome! The name’s Spark, by the way. I’m the leader of Team INSTINCT, the very best! My team is all about trusting yourself, and your Pokemon! You’ve got to believe that together, you and your team can do anything! I may be a Pokemon breeder, but I’ve also got a team of awesome Pokemon here with me. Want to see?”

“YES!”

“Yeah, I’d love to show them to you, too. However, their combined electricity means that you either have to be me, or wear several layers of rubber suits to get out alive.”

There was some silence as the Trainers exchanged glances, wondering whether he really meant it. On one hand, Spark seemed the kind of person who loved a good joke, but on the other hand, life-and-death matters were not something to joke about.

“Pokemon Trainers forever!” Spark shouted, waving at the group of Trainers. “I hope to see you in Team Instinct!”

A resounding cheer echoed around the square as he was engulfed in streaks of lightning. Then there was a loud boom, and he was gone.

“It’s Valor next,” a small girl wearing red whispered to the group in yellow excitedly. “I bet we  _ thrash  _ you guys!” She grinned cheekily at them, but there was no real malice in her voice.

“No way, Lia!” her friend protested, grinning back. “Instinct’s the best!”

Lia shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

Their attention was drawn back to the stage as an explosion shook the ground. And, in a burst of flames, the leader of Team Valor appeared on stage. Her eyes were blazing as she crossed over to the podium.

“My name is Candela, the leader of Team Valor!” She introduced herself quickly amid all the noise. “Valor is about following your heart! It’s about having passion in anything you do, and the courage to find your strength inside!”

“Yes!” The Valors in the crowd cheered, pumping their fists into the air. “VA-LOR! VA-LOR!”

“But most of all, Team Valor is about being doggedly determined to the very end! It’s about keeping hope where others have given up, and always striving to BE THE VERY BEST! Here at Team Valor, we seek to find your power inside! We are the ones who take the paths less traveled, who push on where others stop!”

“VALOR! VALOR! VALOR!” The cheer continued, only increasing in volume.

Candela took a deep breath before screaming the team motto. “IN THE DARKEST NIGHT,”

“WE – ARE – THE – FLAME!” everyone chorused.

“Go Team Valor!” she finished. Another burst of fire, and she too disappeared, leaving the stage empty.

As the Trainers all began chattering at once, no one noticed the winter wind blowing across the stage. Well, not until the temperature in the surrounding area dropped considerably from 32 o Celsius to 23 o . White snow began swirling, getting faster, and faster. Then just as suddenly, it cleared.

A silver-haired woman was standing on stage, her pale green eyes slowly sweeping across the audience. One by one, amid many whispers, they quietened down and watched her attentively. Once there was silence, she began speaking.

“I am Blanche, the leader of Team Mystic. However, I will not be touching on the basic facts about my team. Should you wish to be a member, I expect you already know most of what there is to know about Team Mystic. The rest, you will learn in a few minutes, and in your journey as part of my team.”

She paused, and everyone began protesting at the same time.

“What!?” someone shouted. “That’s a total lie! We were told next to nothing about all the teams!”

“Silence,” Blanche said, and slowly, the talking died down. Looking directly into the eyes of the Trainer who had spoken, she asked calmly, “So then, tell me how you know the mottos, icons, and leaders of each team.” The boy’s mouth opened and shut like a Goldeen, but finding nothing else to say, he subsided.

“Team Mystic is not just a game. If you wish to join me, you are expected to honor your commitment. Induction of new members or swapping of teams after you select will not be permitted.

Team Mystic is not just a team. You must – not  _ should _ , but  _ must _ – uphold all we believe in as a team. At all times. Whether you are an aspiring Pokemon Master hoping to evolve your Pokemon successfully, or a future researcher, or even a Pokemon Trainer or Breeder, once you join Team Mystic, there’s no looking back. This decision will stay with you forever. Choose wisely.

Team Mystic is,” she paused, waiting for the buzz to quieten. “our past, present and future. Join Team Mystic, and you will be the ones writing our story as one team. Join Team Mystic, here and now. Join Team Mystic, and you will be the pioneers, leading others towards a better future.”

Silence reigned when she finished, though everyone had questions. But there was simply no time for that, as she was whisked away in another blinding, icy swirl.


	2. The Laziest Pikachu

“Ugh,” Candela complained, plopping down in the couch beside Spark. “That Blanche-”

“Is the worst workaholic in the world,” Spark finished, having heard this rant an average of three times per day in the past week.

“This is seriously getting out of hand. You realise we haven't even  _ seen _ her since the first day?” Candela said.

“Well, there are only a few places she would be in.” Spark grinned as he counted off on his fingers. “Her room, one of the labs, the training centres, the Pokemon Centre and the library.”

“The  _ library _ ?” Candela scoffed. “She doesn't need the library. Knowing her, she's probably been coming here to read even before it was opened. I bet you she has all those books practically memorized by now.”

“Professor Willow says he nearly collapsed when he saw how thick Blanche's latest report was,” Spark added, his eyes full of laughter.

“He says he's actually been asking her to do  _ less _ work,” Candela continued, grinning.

“He sure is fighting a losing battle there,” Spark observed drily.

“Oh yeah. That reminds me. When are we going to have that battle?” Candela asked, her eyes flashing.

“What- you need more proof that Pokemon strength isn't everything? You know I'm going to win, even with my  _ lazy _ Pikachu,” Spark said, leaning back casually to stare at the ceiling.

“I’ve got a  _ reason _ to call it lazy,” Candela protested. “Every time I see it it's asleep with its face in a bowl of Cheez Balls.”

Spark shrugged, returning to his game. “Oh, come ON! Alright. Let's battle now.” Candela said in frustration, dragging Spark off to find Pikachu.

The Pikachu in question was indeed sleeping in a bowl of Cheez Balls, and objected fiercely to being woken up. “Quit it, Pikachu,” groaned Spark, clambering onto his feet after being hit by a bolt of electricity. “Let’s go prove to Candela that you’re not lazy. Well you are, but it’d be nice to prove her wrong, anyway.” Pikachu frowned heavily at its Trainer at those words, sending Candela into a laughing fit.   
“Even if Pikachu is lazy,” she chuckled, “at least it has a nice death glare. Let’s see it battle with  _ that _ ,” she added satisfactorily.

 

“One on one,” Spark declared, in the arena at last. Most of the Trainers were out at a carnival nearby, so the stands were completely empty save for one small girl with blue hair. Her outfit was in the fiery red of Team Valor, but by her side was an egg incubator. She had a thick notebook in her hands and, he was sure, had written down everything he said.

“Right.” Candela nodded, pulling a Pokeball from her belt. “Charizard! I choose you!” The Fire/Flying-type Pokemon materialised in a flash of white light, growling as the flame on its tail burned fiercely. Spark internally sighed. “When will she ever learn,” he mumbled. “Pikachu, go! Use your Agility attack!”

“Charizard! Use Fire Spin!” Candela shouted. With a roar, flames burst from Charizard’s mouth and curled upwards around one of the many Pikachus dashing around.

“Ha! Wrong one,” Spark had a big smile on his face as Charizard looked around blankly at the blur of yellow and brown surrounding it. Candela was still refusing to back off. “If you can’t get one Pikachu, Charizard, get them all! Fire Spin again!” Charizard flapped its wings and flew upwards, preparing for the finale. 

_ If that one hits, Pikachu will be gone,  _ Spark thought, gritting his teeth. “Okay, Pikachu, you’re faster than that Charizard. Use Thunderbolt! Go!” The arena was filled with bright light as Pikachu’s electric attack collided with Charizard’s flames in a spectacular display. “Charizard, come on down and use Flamethrower!” 

“Pikachu, Agility again! Dodge it and get behind that Charizard!” 

“Pika!” Pikachu nodded, taking off in a flash. Charizard roared again and again, fire shooting out of its mouth, but Pikachu’s Agility made it impossible for the flames to hit its target.

Angered now, Charizard lifted its head high and roared, shaking the ground and scorching a sizeable area of the ceiling.

“Let's get it while it's distracted,” Spark said to Pikachu. “Thunderbolt, now!”

“Pika-CHUUUU!” The space around Pikachu glowed brightly as the electricity from its cheeks hit Charizard from behind. Spark ducked as the Pokemon, confused, shot a whirl of flames across the arena.

“Again, Pikachu!” he shouted desperately, dodging the fiery bursts that Charizard was shooting.

“CHUUUU!” To Spark’s utter horror, the electric rodent’s attack only served to enrage Charizard further, and it was total chaos as flames shot throughout the arena. Smoke spread outwards from the battle scene

Then everything went silent.

The flames slowly fizzled out, and Spark could feel the temperature in the arena dropping as water rained down on them. “Wait…” he said slowly. “How could it be raining when we’re indoors?”

He didn’t have time to worry about that, because Pikachu suddenly remembered that he had a Charizard to electrocute and bolts from the attack were spreading throughout the arena. “Hey! PI-KA-CHU! KNOCK IT OFF!” he shouted. Pikachu, looking pleased with itself as it stood atop Charizard’s fallen form, watched its Trainer wonderingly with its head cocked to one side. “Water conducts electricity, Pikachu,” he said, rolling his eyes. “And not everyone wears rubber shoes like me.” 

“ … chu,” Pikachu said in agreement, ceasing the attack. 

“After you’re done, we need to talk. It seems like something strange has been going on lately.” A familiar voice made its way to them through the hazy surroundings.

“Blanche?” Candela strained to see through the slowly thinning smoke. “Was it you who drenched all of us?” 

“Not exactly,” Blanche replied. “Vaporeon did the honors,” she added, bending down to stroke the small blue Pokemon. It was that movement that stirred something in Candela’s memory.

“Wait a moment… haven’t I seen you someplace before?” she asked quizzically.

Blanche frowned for a moment. “Not that I know of.”

Candela shrugged. “Nice to see you’re not spending  _ all  _ your time working, for a change,” she said.

“No, not really. Nurse Joy just wants to see us down at the Pokemon Centre. I think something’s going on. Spark, we have to go - Spark?” The arena was empty except for Blanche, Candela and Vaporeon. 

“Where did he go?” Candela asked blankly.

“HEEEEY! COME ON, YOU GUYS! LET’S GOOO!” Spark yelled over his shoulder, already halfway down the staircase. “Race you, Pikachu!”

“Pika!” There was a faint squeak from Pikachu as the duo thundered down the flights of stairs, eventually vanishing from sight. Watching them go, Candela couldn’t help shaking her head. 

“For such a lazy Pokemon, that Pikachu sure is fast.”


	3. Pokemon Centre Chaos

“Hey, Nurse Joy!” Spark called as he ran, panting, into the Pokemon Centre. Apart from a few Trainers, Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, there was no one else inside. “Blanche said you were looking for us…”

“Yes, we are,” Officer Jenny replied seriously. “Unfortunately, this also involves the police force, as much as I'd like it not to,” she added.

“What happened?”

“Someone has been stealing Trainers’ Pokemon. There’ve also been reports of injured wild Pokemon. We don't know who's been stealing the Pokemon, but we think that the increase in the number of injured wild Pokemon could be because one - or a group of Trainers are harming the Pokemon,” Officer Jenny explained.

“Yesterday, someone brought this Pidgey in,” Nurse Joy said, leading the way to one of the rooms. The small brown bird was lying on its back with its eyes closed. There was a scar running from its beak to the top of its right wing, and the other wing was clearly broken. Spark was horrified.

“Who would do such a terrible thing?” he asked, eyes wide as he watched the Pokemon’s chest rise and fall, slowly, with the beat of the tiny pulsing light of the machine it was connected to.

“That's just it,” Nurse Joy replied sadly. “We don't know. The only clue we have is that whoever did it must be a Pokemon Trainer. The scratch here could only have been caused by a Beedrill.”

“Most of the Pokemon that were brought in had injuries from Grass- or Poison- Type moves,” Officer Jenny added, “so whoever is behind this must have a speciality in Grass and Poison Type Pokemon.”

“Poison…” Spark tried to think back, to think of any Trainer he’d seen with Poison-type Pokemon. But even as he crossed yet another Trainer off his list, he was sure that no ordinary Trainer would use their Pokemon to harm other Pokemon. Whoever these people were, they couldn’t be any of the Pokemon Trainers he knew. Right? What if… what if it was someone he’d known and liked? What if it was someone from his team? What if… could it be? What if it was Blanche or Candela? It was a horrible thought, that the person behind all this, the one trying to undermine this project, was one of the people who was most involved in it. Waving goodbye to Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, he walked out of the Pokemon Centre’s sliding doors, a heavy weight settling in his chest. To his left, in the town square, the Trainers were at the carnival. There were so many people there, and so many Pokemon. A great opportunity for any Pokemon thief to strike. Maybe there  _ was _ some chance that they could be stopped. On impulse, he took his phone out from his jacket pocket, Pikachu peeking over his shoulder at the bright screen display.

~Hey Blanche, it’s Spark here. Try and fill Candela in on what’s been happening. I’m going to the carnival to investigate. Whoever it is might choose to attack there.

For a moment, there was no reply, and Spark couldn’t help wondering if his suspicions were right, seeing that someone involved in the plan would not be supportive of any investigation… The vibration in his hand startled him, and he looked down. Messages were appearing on his screen.

~OK.

~We can all split up and meet back in the library at two.

And even as Spark stuffed his phone back into his pocket and walked slowly towards the town square, observing each Trainer intently, in his heart, he found it hard to believe that any of them could be capable of doing such a thing. The fact that, as a team leader, he had suspected them all was a shameful fact that pricked his conscience more than his suspicions themselves. Even from afar he could see the happy expressions on all of their faces as they played with their Pokemon. Almost every species of Pokemon was there, from the smallest Rattatas to gigantic Pidgeots flying overhead. The Trainers were having a gala of a time there, and so were the Pokemon. None of them, Spark convinced himself, would be part of the plan. 

His instincts told him so.

He would digress for these few hours, and hopefully, his instincts could be trusted. 


	4. Nature's Song

The leaves on the trees rustled as a wind whistled through the forest. High above, Pidgey and Pidgeotto called to one another in the treetops, and among the clouds, Candela could see a flock of Spearow flying in a V-formation, with a Fearow at the tip. Sunlight filtered in in rays, and the forest was in alternating strips of light and shadows. Candela hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was scared. What else would make her so nervous at every slight sound, to jump at the voice of a Butterfree flitting overhead, and keep one hand firmly on the minimized Pokeballs at her waist, ready to strike? After all, the people she was tracking were definitely dangerous. She was starting to regret her passioned declaration to go into the forest by herself. Despite the promises of an abundance of Pokemon, few Trainers ventured into it. They said it was creepy, and oppressive. “They’re not wrong,” Candela thought now, looking upwards at the trees with their wide, heavy branches. The perpetual darkness made it a great hideout for Pokemon, so logically, it followed that it would also make a great hideout for people. People who didn’t want to be found, that is. Candela ran over her sentence again.  _ Logically. _ It had been a long time since she had used any variations of the word logic in her thought processes. With a slight grin on her face, she figured that some people were certainly beginning to rub off on her. As the thought of her friends formed in her mind, her step quickened and her spirits were invariably lifted. She didn’t know why, but though she wasn’t really thinking about where she was going, she didn’t feel lost. Without the irrational paranoia she had been harbouring for the previous section of her journey, the forest no longer seemed creepy. She started to notice the many Pokemon around her, all in their natural habitat. Several Mankeys watched her from a thick branch on one of the older trees, and a Metapod eyed her sleepily from another. Deeper inside, she could see some Kakuna attached to a tree’s branches, and Weedle busy munching on leaves underneath. A faint buzzing told her that Beedrill were guarding the tree, and it would be unwise to go any closer. Ducking underneath some vines, Candela realised that the lighting was becoming brighter. In contrast to the sounds on the other side of the vines, here it was quiet. There was no sound except for soft music coming from a clearing just ahead. She stopped in her tracks and let the music wash over her, like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. Stepping closer, she realised that there was a young Trainer sitting on a rock in the centre. Pokemon of all kinds gathered around, and even the Beedrill beside the rock looked calm and peaceful. If that was strange, it was a huge contrast to the Trainer herself. She had blue hair that hung lightly in bangs on her forehead, and her eyes were closed as her fingers moved deftly on the holes of her flute. She was wearing a red shirt emblazoned with the outline of a Pikachu together with short yellow pants. The least to say would be that the effect of her clothes was rather… striking.

Curled up in her lap was a small, reddish-brown Pokemon with a white tail. It was tipped with the same colour as the rest of the Pokemon’s fur, and Candela guessed it was a Vulpix. A Bulbasaur had one vine curled protectively around her egg incubator, and peeking out of her colourful bag was a book on battle strategies. For the life of her Candela found it impossible to figure out which team she belonged to. But as she stepped closer to try and get a look at the badge on the Trainer’s sleeve, the leaves of the bushes around her rustled loudly, breaking the spell of the music. Within one minute, only three Pokemon were left - Vulpix, Bulbasaur and a little blue Pokemon with a tail like a bubble.

The Trainer put her flute down and looked around, a slightly wary expression shifting her features. Candela thought it best to reveal herself, and took another step to enter the clearing. There was silence for a moment, and she took the opportunity to look around. The trees here were much taller and thinner, which made it easier for sunlight to enter. Ankle-length grass sprouted throughout the clearing, and she thought she saw a Bellsprout peeking out from behind a tree before vanishing.

“You’re Candela, right?” 

Candela turned to face the Trainer, grinning. “Yeah, sure! It’s surprising to meet someone so casual, half the Valor Trainers  _ still insist _ on calling me “Leader”, no matter how many times I tell them my name’s Candela.”

“Is there anything going on? If you’re looking for someone, there’s no one in this forest but the two of us and the Pokemon. I come in here to play my Poke Flute all the time, and no one except you has found me here yet,” the Trainer replied, seeming unamused by the joke.

“That’s a Poke Flute? I heard they were quite rare.” Candela replied, observing the flute intently. It was yellow and gleamed in the sunlight, with several holes and a Pokeball near the end.

“Well, yes. I- my grandfather gave this to me.” the Trainer said evasively. Seeing that the girl was clearly uncomfortable talking about it, Candela deftly switched the topic. Gesturing to the small blue Pokemon, she asked, “What Pokemon is that? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Oh, that’s Marill,” the girl replied, picking it up. “I caught it just before I left to come here.”

“Marill marill!” the little Pokemon said enthusiastically, flashing a sweet smile at Candela and waving its arms.

“Marill?” Candela asked. “Then you must be from Johto.”

“Yes,” the girl confirmed. “I’m Lia, and I came from Newborg Town.”

“Newborg…” The name rung a bell with Candela, and she was sure she’d heard it somewhere before. “Wait a minute. Why didn’t you participate in the Johto League?”

Lia shrugged the question off almost nonchalantly. “Everyone asks me that. But I just like the Kanto Pokemon better. I’m happy with my choice, because if I didn’t come here, I wouldn’t have gotten Bulbasaur or Vulpix.” She turned to Candela. “I heard you were a really good fire-type Trainer. Can you show me your team?”

Candela shook her head. “Sorry, Lia, but I think they’re just too big. Besides, they’re mostly fire-types and as a rule I don’t usually let them come out in such dense forests. But if you want to know, there’s Flareon, Arcanine, Charizard, Ninetales, Rapidash and Dragonite.”

Lia’s mouth fell open. “Wow!  _ Dragonite? _ That’s amazing! And all your Pokemon have already fully evolved!” She bent down and, letting Marill down on the rock, gathered Vulpix into her arms. “Do you think Vulpix can evolve into a Ninetales soon?” she asked eagerly, her eyes shining.

Candela couldn’t help smiling at her enthusiasm. “Well, for the evolution part you really should ask Blanche, but I think your Vulpix is doing really well. It’s just hatched, right?”

“Yes, just this morning,” Lia replied, stroking Vulpix gently.

“Look, its tail is already beginning to turn brown. That’s a great achievement, Lia. The tails of Vulpix only turn brown and split into six if their Trainer gives them plenty of love and care.”

Lia beamed at the praise. “Thanks! I was actually hoping that another Pokemon besides my own would stay here and join my team. I want to catch a Bellsprout because I heard they can be really strong.”

“You mean when you play your Poke Flute -”

“The Pokemon in the vicinity come to listen,” she said sagely. “I was hoping they might stay this time, but they all went away.” She looked apologetically at Candela. “I think you might have scared them.”

“There was one Bellsprout that didn’t leave immediately,” Candela replied, remembering the Pokemon she’d seen. “Maybe if you played the Poke Flute again…”

Lia thought about it for a while, then she turned back to the rock where her Poke Flute lay. And for the first time, Candela caught a glimpse of the badge on her left sleeve. Moltres. Team Valor. She was about to ask, but as Lia put the flute to her lips and blew one, clear, ringing note, she found herself sinking into a kind of dreamy stupor. Her brain only vaguely registered that many Pokemon were gathered around Lia again, including the Bellsprout she’d first seen. The notes were like a soft flame, flickering, giving light and warmth. But at the same time, they were fluid as water, sharp as bolts of electricity. It felt almost magical, just to be sitting there, listening to the music like the Pokemon of all kinds… 

Candela was startled out of her thoughts by the vibrations of her phone in her pocket. It was a message from Spark, and notifications for three missed calls.

~Candela, where are you? Hurry up and come back, Blanche is like totally pissed at you. Have you forgotten? We were supposed to meet Professor Willow in the conference room at 2.30!

“Oh my goodness,” she thought, taking a quick glance at her watch - it was exactly 2.35. Without knowing it, she’d spent almost an hour listening to Lia’s flute.

“Oh, are you going already?” As the words left Lia’s mouth, the music stopped abruptly, and, just like before, the Pokemon scattered. Only one Bellsprout remained.

“Yes,” Candela said. “I’ll - I’ll see you around.” Stuffing her phone back into her jacket pocket, she was going to dash off through the trees when there was a cry behind her. 

“Wait!”

“Hmm?” Candela spun around on the spot, the heel of her shoe digging into the ground.

“You can’t find your way out alone, you’ll never make it. I’m coming with you.”

Walking through the forest with Lia was definitely not as scary as walking through on her own, Candela reflected. Lia had Vulpix on one shoulder and Bellsprout on the other, while Marill went ahead and Bulbasaur kept pace with them sedately. Without thinking, the burning question she’d had escaped.

“You could have fit easily into any team, you know. Why did you join Team Valor?”

Lia looked down, and there was a tense silence between them for a few minutes. Then finally, she said, “I… I want to have enough courage… to do what’s right, even if it’s the hardest thing I have to do.”

Candela didn’t reply, but as they parted near Harmony Centre, the thought running through her head wasn’t that she was fifteen minutes late, nor that someone sinister was doing all they could to undermine the GO program. All she was thinking about was that she’d learned more from one Trainer than any textbook or battle could ever teach her.


	5. The Plan - or rather, The Lack of One

From the outside, Harmony Centre’s conference room looked just like any other - with its polished door and a suitably sophisticated plaque to go with it, bearing the words “CONFERENCE ROOM” in a neat typeface. When Candela opened the door, however, she was greeted by a scene of complete disarray. Spark had let all his Pokemon out of his Pokeballs, and the lights flickered on and off as Pikachu and Electabuzz played thunderbolt-tag, while Jolteon was perched on the windowsill, aiming bolts of electricity at all the lightning rods it could see. Meanwhile, Magneton was hovering uncertainly over Professor Willow’s increasingly frizzy hair, torn between helping and playing, as Electrode rolled around, bumped into things and people, and generally wreaking near destruction on anything fragile. Spark was sitting in his chair, spinning around slowly with his eyes closed and arms folded, while Professor Willow, who had evidently given up trying to keep things in order, had straightened up, given Magneton a stern look and smoothed out his hair, returning to the laptop before him, which, in the presence of all the static, had gone into hibernation.    
“Isn’t this just  _ great _ ?” Spark said, now watching all the electric Pokemon. “It’s so interesting, the way they can use electric attacks without a battery or anything.”

Blanche got up from her seat, a stony expression on her face as she glared at Spark. “I thought you’d know that. In the case of Electrode, Pikachu and Electabuzz, it’s a catalyzer that sets off the reaction, found in all three Pokemon. Magneton is - well, an  _ electro _ magnet, and it needs a constant supply of electricity for it to continue using its electric attacks. With Jolteon, it’s really a matter of static electricity, and it’s concentrated by Jolteon’s collar - the spikes are positioned at precise angles and distances from each other in order to focus the energy on one spot.” She sounded like she’d swallowed the entire library, audio, video, books… you name it.

“Yes,” Professor Willow said with frustration, “that’s all very well, but we really need to get this going - AARGH, NOT AGAIN!” Electrode had slammed hard into the table, causing it to tip over precariously, the laptop sliding slowly off the edge, as though it was mocking them.

“Rapidash, go!” The fiery Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light, materializing just inside the room. “Settle the Pokemon, quick,” Candela told it, but Professor Willow pulled her over to the table. 

“ _ We don’t need any more Pokemon _ ,” he intoned. With half of his grey hair sticking up in all directions, it was no wonder Candela flinched slightly - he looked totally manic.

“Spark - Candela - return your Pokemon.” Blanche said. Candela scowled, though she held out Rapidash’s Pokeball.

“At least I was trying to help,” she said indignantly, hands on her hips.

Blanche rolled her eyes impatiently. “ **Water conducts electricity** , Candela.” 

Candela opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, the sound of Professor Willow’s laptop restarting distracted all of them. Now that the static had cleared from the room, all the electronics were working properly, and Professor Willow’s hair was gradually resuming its initial style.

“I’ve been analysing the injuries of the Pokemon,” he told them, “and I really can’t find any more connections or clues. Look.” He turned the screen of the laptop around, and they saw pictures of all the Pokemon that were injured. 

“That’s the Pidgey I saw this morning!” Spark said suddenly, pointing at one of them. “Nurse Joy said it was a Beedrill that attacked it.”

“That Rattata there - that’s a Vine Whip attack. And the Caterpie at the bottom was hurt by Razor Leaf,” Blanche continued, and by the looks on their faces, she’d surprised everyone by knowing about grass-type moves. She bit her lip, an old habit that had never really been conquered. “You’re right, Professor. The possibilities are endless. It could be any Trainer with any Pokemon, or it could be a group. They could even be from another region, with a Pokemon that we don’t know about yet.”

“Maybe we should start investigating our own Trainers here first,” Candela said. “They might know something.”

“But there are millions of Trainers who have registered under the program, and grass types are quite common around here,” Professor Willow replied, disappointment etched all over his face. They all knew how long he’d spent creating the GO program, and that he even dedicated his life to digitalizing Pokemon training. His first paper about this had been published so many years ago, and only now had his dreams come into fruition.

“Don’t worry, Professor,” Spark said desperately, hating to see him like this, “we’ll help.”

“Yeah, we will,” Candela agreed, a small smile spreading across her face.

“You’ve got our word on this,” Blanche said, still scrolling down the list of injuries. 

Professor Willow looked at them in surprise. Usually, the three were fighting like Meowth and Rattata… well, if they could become friends, then maybe something good  _ could _ come of this after all… 

_ The day passed quickly, considering whatever they did - no, what they didn’t do. A streak of moonlight is shining through the window, illuminating their faces. The temperature’s cold outside -  a rainstorm is on its way - but it was pleasantly warm inside the room, with Flareon to increase the temperature. Pikachu is sleeping on the table, with a faceful of Pokemon snacks. Flareon has curled up in Candela’s lap, but Vaporeon isn’t sleeping. It seems to be trying to say something.  _


	6. Legendary Tales

“Hmm? Yeah, Vaporeon. I know. Like that day… right?” Blanche said to the blue Pokemon. “I’m hoping it won’t be… you know…”

“Vapor.” 

“I guess there’s always a chance… we got lucky last time, you know. Because of Articuno. But if it hadn’t been there…”

“What!?” Spark sat up straight, staring with a sort of incredulity at Blanche. “You’ve met  _ Articuno _ ?”

Blanche stared back at him. “The reason we’re all here now is  _ because _ each of us is somehow connected to one of the Legendary Bird trio. That’s why Professor Willow chose the legendaries to be our teams’ symbols.”

Spark had a half stunned, half reminiscent look on his face. “So…  _ that _ was Zapdos?” he murmured. “I’ve been trying to find out… for  _ years _ …” He didn’t add that horrible thoughts had just formed in his mind.

Candela, watching him, sat up too. “You mean you met Zapdos and forgot all about it?” she said, sounding just as shocked as Spark looked. 

“It’s been coming back to me for so long…” Spark continued talking to himself, apparently oblivious to what Candela just said.

“Spark! Are you okay?” Candela asked loudly. This seemed to shake Spark out of a trance and he looked around.

“Huh? Oh. Oh. Yeah, sure I’m okay. Nothing to worry about…” he said, still looking like he was in a dream.

“Why don’t you just  _ tell _ us what’s going on?” Candela asked.

“Well… alright. But after I’m done, you two have got a bit of storytelling to do,” Spark replied, a hint of his characteristic mischievous twinkle back in his blue eyes, though his face was still rather pale.

“Fair enough,” Blanche said, shrugging.

_ I met Zapdos twice. I don’t recall the first time. I was really young then. All I remember is a flash of light, a huge explosion… there was something flying away, I could feel the wind. Someone was screaming my name… th _ e _ next thing I remembered, I was in the hospital, and Uncle Surge was watching me. _

“Lieutenant Surge?” Candela and Blanche said together in surprise. Spark nodded.

_ The second time, I had no idea it was Zapdos. Team Rocket came. They wanted to take the Gym. They were bullying all the Pokemon… they set one of the rooms on fire, and the Electrode that were there got really stressed out. They self-destructed. I… I couldn’t help them…  _

Spark’s voice broke, and he swallowed, taking a deep breath before continuing.

_ The rest of the Pokemon were scared, too. Pikachu was just a Pichu then. Even Uncle Surge’s Raichu was hiding behind his leg. Raichu seemed to recognise the man who came. I can’t exactly remember, only that one of the Electrode exploded right behind me. It was a really strong Pokemon, and I was thrown backwards. There was this sort of electricity humming all over my body, and I couldn’t move of my own will even though I was conscious of who I was. I was maneuvered into a standing position, right in front of the Rocket guy. I don’t recall my feet ever touching the ground. I had no control over anything. The electricity seemed to move of its own accord, concentrating in my right hand. There was a flash of light, like the first time. The whole place exploded. _

Spark paused, though he didn’t seem to have finished his story. “Well, that’s it,” he said bleakly. “Now you guys.” He was trembling slightly, as though he was about to cry. Candela tried to lighten the atmosphere (failing at it, too). “Okay… erm… Blanche…?”

“You go ahead,” was the only reply. Blanche wasn’t looking at Candela or Spark. She met Vaporeon’s deep indigo eyes, and the Pokemon seemed to be saying something very softly. “Yes,” Blanche whispered. “What  _ did _ happen to Surge…? He disappeared from his Gym at around that time…” She knew neither Candela nor Spark could hear anything.

Candela gently shook Flareon awake. “You know, this is your story, too,” she said, before starting to talk. She wasn’t looking at any of them, pretending that only Flareon was listening.

_ I… was in a forest near my home… that’s where I found Eevee. There was someone hurting it. I knew that guy, he was the local bully, and later on, he’d be my main rival in the Indigo League. He had a Venusaur with him, and Eevee had been hurt pretty badly by Vine Whip. I…  _ she clenched her teeth for a second, deliberating on whether to finish her sentence.

_ I was too - scared - to go out and help. I only had Charmander and Vulpix with me, and they were both just babies. I had the type advantage, but that Venusaur was just too strong for them. I was watching the kid hurt Eevee, and it had this great slash across its side. There was blood all over its fur, and it was shaking There was this… really loud boom, like something very heavy had just landed. I thought it was a Snorlax at first. But then I heard screaming from that kid, and I looked up. Moltres was there, right in the centre of the clearing. It set the whole area on fire without even moving a muscle. _

“Well, that’s- that's what happened,” she finished.  “I’ve never seen Moltres since. But that time during the Pokemon League, I think the reason I won was because just knowing that the flame burning up there was from Moltres kind of gave me strength.” 

Candela might have told a clearer story than Spark did, but she was hiding something, too. But weren’t they all? Blanche, finding that all the eyes in the room were on her, swallowed, and began to speak.

_ It was Team Rocket. But they’re… gone now. They knew Articuno would come to my aid, if they hurt me. And they tried. At the time, there was an unused Gym in the town where I lived in. It had been my father’s dream to get an ice-type Gym into the Pokemon League, but, well, it was never fulfilled. But Team Rocket found a way. They blew up the building, and if I had been anywhere near on that day, I wouldn’t even be here now. But I was further away, on one of the mountains surrounding the town, so they couldn’t kill me. The entire town was on fire… I don’t think anyone else survived. They came looking for me, though. They hadn’t known I wasn’t in the town, but when Articuno didn’t come, I think they got suspicious. One of them tried to battle, and my Pokemon would have been seriously injured if Articuno hadn’t come. That Blizzard was one of the most powerful that I’ve ever seen, and it swept almost everyone away.   _ “The only time I saw Articuno, but its power is hard to match, even with all the training I’ve done.”

“Blanche…” Candela said slowly, realisation beginning to dawn on her. “I think I know the Gym you’re talking about. And I also think I’ve seen you… somewhere before…” 


	7. A Battle and A Memory

“Hey, you three,” Professor Willow said as he opened the door of the conference room to find all three team leaders there again, looking at photos, reports, everything. “When are you ever going to stop this maniacal investigation? You’ve been at it for  _ two weeks _ already, honestly!” He couldn’t help thinking, though, how they’d gone from being total strangers to close friends through the investigation, and that he was right - something good  _ had _ come out of it.

“We’re no closer to finding out who’s behind this,” Candela objected. “Shouldn’t we be trying to solve this puzzle?”

Professor Willow rolled his eyes. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, I really do,” he said, with a slight hint of impatience in his tone. “But there haven’t been any more attacks for the past 2 weeks - let Officer Jenny’s team handle it for now, okay?” Seeing that they were about to protest, he continued, “You’ve been neglecting your duties as team leaders, you realise?”

There was a loud ‘snap!’, and Professor Willow found that Blanche had slammed her laptop shut and turned around to watch him. He hated to break the news, but they couldn’t be ignorant of it any longer. “I’ve received about twenty emails, saying that so-and-so and their friends sent appraisal requests  _ two weeks ago _ , but they haven’t been returned yet, and if something’s wrong. You’ve really got to - hey, wait, where are you going, Blanche?”

“The data from the appraisal requests for Team Mystic were all sent to the laboratory. I’ve got to go, sorry, Professor.”

Shaking his head slightly, he turned to Spark and Candela. “Oh yes - Candela, you’ve got, like, fifty messages from one Trainer - I reckon you should read them.”

~Candela, hey, it’s Lia here. I don’t know if it’s too much to ask, but could we have a battle one of these days? I’ve got a full team of six now, and if you want, we could arrange a time?

This one was dated two weeks ago. Then, Candela scrolled to the bottom, and read the most recent one, from that morning.

~Training arena 1 is free today, so if you’re free, maybe we could battle today? I think someone reserved if from 4p.m. onwards

‘Okay, that sounds awesome, thanks! I’ll meet you there at two. :)))’ she typed, and with renewed energy, began to do some of the appraisals once she was back in her room.

***

Walking down the brightly lit hallways of the floor where the training arenas were built, Candela was taking in all the sights around her. The corridor leading to the room was almost empty, with the occasional Trainer walking past, some greeting her, others wishing her good luck. It somehow seemed that they all knew more about this battle, and each and every one of them looked excited.

When she twisted the doorknob, the noise and cheering that greeted her was enough to make someone like Blanche cringe, or maybe get one of her Pokemon to shoot a Water Gun at the nearest offender. But Candela didn’t mind the noise that much, and with Flareon’s warm, bushy fur brushing against her leg, she walked across the arena to face Lia.

Her blue hair was tied back in a long plait, and her Marill bounced exuberantly beside her. She waved when Candela walked in.

“Hey!” she called. “Let's start the match now, shall we?”

Candela grinned. “You’re on! But I won't go easy on you.”

“Don’t worry,” Lia replied mischievously.  “I’m a lot stronger than I was at first, and I won't go easy on you either.” However, she’d hardly participated in any battles, and she looked rather nervous. Candela definitely had the upper edge in this battle.

“For the first match, I choose Marill!” Lia declared, and the tiny mouse hopped into the arena, with a defiant “Ma- Rill!”

“This should be no problem. Go! Charizard!”

The gargantuan reptile materialised before Marill with a roar.

“Go, Marill! Water Gun!”

“Charizard, dodge it! Fly up, and keep your tail dry,” Candela reminded it.

Marill may be small, but it was strong, and for a few minutes, Charizard was flying around the arena dodging water and keeping the fire on its tail lit. Candela had to do something… 

Then she spotted it.

“Charizard, loop, then descend!” Charizard spun around, and flew downwards. 

“ Marill, aim carefully! Water Gun!” 

“Dodge it!”

Charizard shifted its course, and ended up behind Marill. “FLAMETHROWER!” Candela shouted, and Charizard’s opponent was engulfed in red flames.

The smoke filled the whole area around them, and everyone was quiet, just waiting… Candela and Lia’s eyes were both fixed on the centre of the smoke cloud, where something was stirring. Then with an almighty roar, Charizard flew out of the cloud, beating its wings to clear the smoke. Marill was still standing, a very fierce look on its face, and cheers exploded in every section of the audience. But Candela was an experienced Trainer, and she noticed that it was breathing heavily, and had a burn on its left cheek. 

“Charizard, go in for a Seismic Toss!” Charizard flew upwards and prepared to dive, but just as it claws extended out to grab hold of Marill, Lia dashed into the battlefield and knocked them out of the way, her arms spread out like a shield.  Candela’s eyebrows creased slightly. Trainers weren't allowed in the battlefield until a match was over, surely Lia knew that! But then she heard what Lia was saying. 

“Don’t do it, Charizard. Marill can't take it. I forfeit the match!”

Whispers spread like hissing wildfires around the seats at the side of the room. Lia’s face was flushed in embarrassment. 

“Sorry if you think I'm a weak Trainer,“ she mumbled. “ It’s just… I can't let Marill get hurt. I can't.”

Candela blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought of it, she realised. Lia had been the one to consider her Pokemon; and not just battle to win. Winning was important, for sure. But she knew that every one of the Pokemon in her team were her friends. They were part of who she was. Then with a jolt, she suddenly saw all eyes on her. Evidently, she was supposed to say something.

“Lia, of course you're not a weak Trainer… in fact, I think what you did was great.”

“Really?” Lia asked, looking up at Candela. 

“Really,” Candela replied,  smiling.  Then she turned to the audience. “You guys should learn this. Team Valor  _ is _ the team that loves battling the most. But remember… when you're in battle, your Pokemon are the ones who are battling. They're battling for you, and as a Trainer, you’ve got to look out for them.”

She returned Charizard to its Pokeball; so that Marill was directly facing her. “Hey, little one,“

“Ma? Rill?”

“You should be proud,“ Candela continued. “You've got a really awesome Trainer.”

Lia blushed as Marill leapt into her arms, but this time, it was out of pleasure. And her cheeks only grew redder when someone began clapping, and soon, the whole arena was filled with applause. 

“Now let's  _ battle _ !” Candela shouted. 

 

Down another corridor, as Spark was walking, he could hear muted tapping sounds. A keyboard. More specifically, Blanche’s keyboard. He twisted the doorknob quietly, but jumped when he heard her voice saying,  “Hi, Spark.”

“How did you know it was me?” he asked, sidling into the room and looking around. Blanche's room was impossibly neat. The walls were a light shade of blue, and the desk she was sitting at was white. Beside the desk was a mahogany bookcase full of books he was sure he'd never read in his life. Her laptop was open on the table as usual, and she was reading from some weird diagrams Spark couldn’t figure out from where he was standing.

“You’re the only one who comes in like that,” she replied without even looking up. Now standing beside her, he could see the diagrams on her laptop screen, recognising them as the physiology of a Vulpix.

“What do you mean?” he said, startled. This was his first time entering her room, and he didn’t think that the way he opened doors was even  _ that _ obvious.

“Professor Willow won’t come in now, he’s down at the Pokemon Centre. Knowing Candela, she’d just barge in without knocking, and if it was a Trainer or someone else, they’d probably knock. If it was - well, by elimination I deduced that you were the one who opened the door,” she explained. Then, looking up at him, she continued, “Do you need anything?”

“I… umm…” He stared down at his shoes, trying to find a way to say what he wanted to.  _ You’re a loser, Spark,  _ a voice said in his head.  _ A total loser who can’t even admit that you’re a loser. For Arceus’ sake, there is nothing wrong with not knowing the base stats of an Onix! _ Blanche, who had perhaps grown tired of waiting for him, had turned back to her desk.  _ See? Even she’s given up on you. _ But then she turned around again, holding a slim contraption in her hand. Blue, like almost everything else was.

“This is what you need, isn’t it?” she asked, standing up and holding it up. It was a Pokedex. Spark’s jaw hung open, making him look quite gormless, but thoughts were whirling around his head and he couldn’t focus on what she said next.

“Spark? Oh, never mind,” she said, shaking her head while pressing the Pokedex into Spark’s hand. The shape of the smooth and thin Pokedex in his hand seemed to bring him back to his senses.

“What did you say just now?” He watched as Blanche gestured towards the bookcase.

“I said, if you really want details, consult these books. Just… take them anytime you want.”

“Er… okay… thanks a lot,” he said awkwardly. “What are you doing?” he continued in an effort to change the subject.

“I’m studying Vulpix,” she replied. “There’s been a new discovery in the region of Alola: Vulpix in those regions are ice-types instead of fire-types. I’m trying to find differences in their physiology or genetic makeup to find out what it is that causes the changes in the Alolan Vulpix.” The rest of what she said was lost in Spark’s mind - words he’d heard or seen before, then promptly forgot, or some extremely weird ones with too many syllables. The gist of it, he supposed, was that she was researching the differences between some Kanto Pokemon and their Alolan counterparts. 

And because he wasn’t listening, he had no idea why she took a particularly thick and quite old book from her bookshelf and opened it up, flipping through the pages.

“What book is that?” he asked tentatively.

“I can conclude that you weren’t listening.” she said, still flipping through the book. “No matter. I was saying, this book is the first volume of Pokemon legends - legends and myths about, or related to, Pokemon. This one here might pique your interest.” She stopped at one page, emblazoned with a picture of a stone tablet. Spark’s eyes followed the progression of the strange characters, and as he did so, a new memory surfaced in his mind.

He was standing before that very same tablet, and someone was reading from it.

“ _ Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, and thus the earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea. _ ”

And another voice rang out, higher-pitched and clear as crystal. “Look! That’s the ship! It crashed there!” it said excitedly.

“Then it’s true,” the first voice said softly. “The legend is true.”

“We should go closer! To one of the islands, maybe. Finally, after so long researching about Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Lugia, finally! We’re really here!” the other voice replied. “Spark! Can you believe it? Look here! It’s really true!”

Then a third voice, foreboding and slow. “The islands have not been approached by mankind for a long time. The Titans have never taken kindly to human visitors, and especially since the last time, they reject almost all humans.”

The first person spoke again. “Last time? So the prophecy… “

“The prophecy has been fulfilled,” the third voice replied. “But prophecies can be fulfilled again. Thus I stand guard over the shrine, in case the three treasures must be united once more.”

“Wait, did you say  _ almost _ all humans?” the second voice called. “Then they might not reject us!”

“That chance is not to be taken,” the third  voice said solemnly.

Spark knew the rest. The first and second voices must belong to his parents… but who was with them? They’d travelled to Lightning Island, where… where Zapdos lived. But why, when they both died, had he survived? He turned one page, almost unconscious of what he was doing. There was a picture of three Pokemon, one blue, one red and cream, one yellow and black. That one must be Zapdos. So this was the Pokemon that killed his parents. He tilted the book to try and get a closer look at it, but as he did so, a photograph slid out from between two of the pages and fluttered onto the ground, reflecting the sunlight pouring in through the window.


	8. Unanswered Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's just say that this chapter has been aptly named, and that the plot holes might be filled in later on. However, it's a chance that you might not want to take. Also, you might want to note that everything in this chapter is significant or will be significant, whether it's emphasised or not.

No one noticed the photo.

Not at first, anyway.

Only long after Blanche had left the room to train, telling Spark that he could take the book if he wanted, and when he had read the legend twice, he noticed it. 

It was a small photograph, and its contents were simple. There was a girl in the picture - was it Blanche? It could be. They both had the same silver hair and green eyes. But there were a few differences. This girl’s hair wasn’t tied in a ponytail, but instead in two plaits, and she had a Bulbasaur.

“I wonder… ,” Spark murmured.

A voice directly behind him made him jump. “Why don’t you ask her?”

A Trainer was standing there. Her blue hair was tied in a long plait down her back, and there was a red badge on her shirt sleeve. Team Valor. She had a yellow sling bag, but the strangest thing about her… was that there were  _ two _ of her. Just at the door, another girl stood, and she was exactly the same as the first one.

The girl turned around, and when she saw what Spark was staring at, she just laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. That’s just Ditto. It loves scaring people like that.” Its cover blown, the Ditto resumed the shape of a purple blob.

“Wow, a shapeshifter,” Spark said in admiration.

“Pretty cool, right? You’re Spark, right? The leader of Team Instinct? I’m Lia, and this is my Pokemon, Ditto.” Lia introduced herself after walking to the door to pick DItto up. “Do you know where Blanche is?” she continued.

“Yes,” Spark replied, “but why do you want to know?”

Lia’s expression changed immediately. “Oh… I wanted to talk to her.”

“Well…” he said, staring at the girl. Did she know something about Blanche that he didn’t? And what?

“Blanche said she’d be down at the outdoor habitat training with her Pokemon,” he told Lia, and on seeing her bewildered expression elaborated, “The outdoor habitat is an area just behind the Harmony Centre building. When this plot of land was bought to build Harmony Centre, there were already quite a few wild Pokemon living there. Professor Willow didn’t want to disturb the Pokemon, so instead of building the whole centre on the ground, the contractors built it upwards. Come on, I’ll take you there.”

Pikachu chose this moment to pop out of its Pokeball and cry, “Pi-KA-chu!”, giving Spark an idea.

“Why don’t you play with Pikachu?” he asked Lia, and the yellow mouse slid from his shoulder down onto hers.

“It’s so cute!” she laughed, as Pikachu ran around on her shoulders and even balanced on her head.

They ran through about all the stairs in Harmony Centre, then to the back of the ground floor and back up two flights of stairs to a small white door with no doorknob. In fact, if they didn’t know it was there, it would be way too easy to miss, especially with a particularly glaring light shining on it. 

“Is it locked?” Lia asked.

“Nope,” Spark replied, and began to push the door open. Then he stopped, and let go of the door. “Wait, Lia. Promise me that you won’t try to come back here again on your own, or tell anyone else about this place. The Pokemon here deserve to live in peace. That’s why I led you through such a complicated route, so that you won’t remember how you got here.”

“Okay,” Lia said, nodding. “I promise, Spark.”

Pikachu leapt down from her shoulder and, while standing on its hind legs, pushed the door open slightly and stuck its head out to look around.

“You go first, Pikachu,” Spark said. “We’re right behind you.” Then he pushed the door open.

The trio were greeted with a large open space, full of all kinds of Pokemon. Some Pidgey were perched on the branches of a large tree, while a group of Poliwag and its evolutions were grouped together watching a column of water rising from a pond. A Butterfree flitted around a patch of flowers nearby, and a group of Rattata peeked out through a patch of tall grass to watch them pass. 

Then they heard someone call, “Blastoise, keep going. Just another two metres more,” Standing behind the column of water was a young woman with silvery hair and wearing a blue coat. She didn’t appear to notice them. Her eyes were fixed on the rising column, and after a few minutes, she commanded, “Okay, now!” A dark shape in the column tilted at an angle, before rapidly progressing towards a large target placed at the end of the outdoor habitat.

“Skull Bash!” Blanche called, and almost instantly, the dark round shape transitioned into a white streak, encased in a cocoon of water that sparkled under the sunlight. It smashed through the target upon contact, and once on the other side, the shape stopped and turned around. It was larger than any other human or Pokemon in the outdoor habitat, with a blue body encased in a hard shell. The cannons on its back proved it to be a Blastoise.

“Spark,” Blanche said, as she and her Blastoise walked towards them. “Trainers aren’t allowed here. Why did you bring her in?” But even her admonishing tone could not suppress Lia’s astonishment.

“Your Blastoise is awesome,” she managed to get out. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Blast… toise,” the large Pokemon acknowledged her praise with a smile.

But even that shock was tiny compared to the next one Lia received when she looked closer at Blanche. The silver hair, the green, almond-shaped eyes… this was way too familiar, and yet too different. Only after thinking for a moment did she realise what was different. 

But there was still only one way to confirm this.

“Can you tell me about your Pokemon?” Lia asked. Blanche stared at her intently for a while, and that look was totally creepy. It was like… well, she didn’t quite know, but it sent prickles down her spine.

“You’re Lia,” Blanche said, after a while. It wasn’t even a question.

“How did you know my name?” Lia asked in shock. 

“The training arenas here require Trainers to sign in every time they use the facilities. The profiles of both Trainers, as well as their registered Pokemon, are sent to the main database together with the duration and time of their battle. Every profile must have an identifying picture and name of the Trainer. This is to ensure that in the event the facilities are misused, the Trainers concerned can be quickly identified and questioned.”

“In short,” Spark laughed, “Blanche checked her computer just now.” 

“I think,” Blanche continued as though Spark hadn’t spoken, “that just telling you about my Pokemon will not suffice.” She took out four PokeBalls from her belt and tapped them lightly to return them to their full size. “Come out, everyone.”

From left to right, beside Blastoise, four other Pokemon appeared: a Vaporeon, Lapras, Cloyster and Dewgong.

“So it isn’t her,” Lia whispered, relieved. Thankfully, no one else heard it.

***

“Okay,” Lia said, stopping at the turn to the library. “I guess I stop here. See you soon!” Her Ditto, who had popped out of its PokeBall, transformed into a replica of her to wave goodbye too.

“Her Ditto is awesome,” Spark said, as he and Blanche walked towards the common room where they would hopefully find Candela. “It transformed perfectly into Lia… they look like twins!”

_ Twins _ .

Blanche turned around. Lia and Ditto were still standing there. One of them (Lia, probably) wrote something on a piece of paper before folding it into a paper aeroplane and making it glide down the corridor. Lia gestured towards herself and Ditto, mouthing the word ‘twins’, before pointing at the paper aeroplane in Blanche’s hands.

_ Be careful. _

Be careful… twins… how did she know… There was no way  _ anyone  _ could have realised this. Blanche folded the note and put it into her pocket, but when she looked up, both Lia and Ditto were gone.

“Come on!” Spark called from the end of the corridor. He didn’t appear to have noticed anything unusual.

The blast of sound that greeted them as they opened the door to the common room could just be identified as music. Apparently, Candela had her phone connected to the sound system of the room and had been blasting a battle theme at full volume. She turned around when the door opened, and seeing Spark and Blanche standing there, switched the sound off.

“Sorry,” she said, grinning at their stunned expressions. “The sound system is great, isn’t it? I thought you two might hear me all the way from the end of the corridor…”

“Nope,” Spark replied, and she raised an eyebrow.

“What? Why?” Then, as she realised why, she continued, “Wait a minute… this room -”

“Is soundproofed,” Blanche replied. “Precisely why we  _ didn’t  _ hear you until opening the door gave us temporary ear damage.”

“Oh, come on!” Candela protested. “Don’t be so prim,”

“I’m not being  _ prim _ ,” Blanche said, pulling out a pair of headphones from her sling bag and placing them over her head. “I’m just being cautious.”

“Whatever you say,” Candela muttered, turning the volume of the music slightly softer.


	9. Echo

“Sir, Kanto Section 2 Field Commander speaking. We have good news. All four targets have been identified and their locations have all been pinpointed.” The voice over the phone said.

“Very well. Send the data over.”

“Yes, sir!” came the instant reply.

Four pictures appeared on the screen of the laptop, but looking further down the screen, the blank for ‘LOCATION’ were all filled with the same two words. 

“ **HARMONY CENTRE** ”

The man laughed, stroking his pet Pokemon. “That Professor WIllow is going to have his work cut out for him… “

***

**TEAM ROCKET**

**LEADER:** GIOVANNI

**AIM:** TO OWN THE RAREST AND MOST POWERFUL POKEMON AND RULE THE WORLD AS A RESULT

**CRIMES COMMITTED:** ILLEGAL CLONING EXPERIMENTS, STEALING RARE OR POWERFUL POKEMON, STEALING INFORMATION ABOUT SUCH POKEMON, CAUSING HARM TO THE PROPERTY OR POSSESSIONS OF OTHERS, ETC.

**COMMON POKEMON USED:** POISON-TYPE POKEMON, NORMAL-TYPE POKEMON, GROUND-TYPE POKEMON (LEADER ONLY)

**NOTABLE AGENTS:**

Blanche frowned, looking further down the page. It didn’t say anything about injuring wild Pokemon, or Bug/Grass-type Pokemon. Then could it be that Team Rocket wasn’t behind all the trouble caused those few weeks ago? But if it wasn’t Team Rocket, and it wasn’t Spark or Candela, then it had to be one of the Trainers… would they do something like that? Battle a Pokemon, then leave it injured and helpless when it was deemed too weak…

_ I… was in a forest near my home… that’s where I found Eevee. There was someone hurting it. I knew that guy, he was the local bully, and later on, he’d be my main rival in the Indigo League. He had a Venusaur with him, and Eevee had been hurt pretty badly by Vine Whip.  _ Candela’s story, that day in the conference room… yes. There were definitely Trainers around who would do that. Vine Whip… a Venusaur… 

She removed her headphones to ask Candela for that Trainer’s name, and the same blast of music that she and Spark had heard at the door to the common room filled her ears again. 

“On second thoughts, maybe not,” she said to herself, placing her headphones back over her ringing ears and continuing down the page.

***

Looking down the list of his agents, the man crossed out name after name with his black pen. According to his data, they were all busy on missions, or just weren’t cut out for the job. Then he found it, unsuspecting, right in the middle of the list. The one agent he needed to complete this mission. The one who would hurt them the most.

He dialed the number, and she picked up with a curt “Hello?”

“I am here to tell you something,” he said, and her tone instantly changed.

“Yes, sir,” she said. “My apologies, sir. I thought it was one of the juniors calling  _ again _ …”

The voice on the other end of the phone continued speaking, as though it had not heard her. Well, he was the boss, after all, and who was she to argue, anyway? 

“I have a mission for you. You are to travel to Harmony Centre and bring back our four targets. The information about them will be sent to your computer soon. You may bring along as many people as you need to complete the mission.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, and he hung up. The same four pictures appeared on her computer, and when she reached the third one, her mouse paused there for a minute, tracing the letters of the name.

“Well,” she whispered, staring into the picture, “Looks like I’ll be seeing you sooner than you think.”

***

_ Well, looks like I’ll be seeing you sooner than you think. _

Blanche flinched at the sound of that voice, echoing in her mind. She clenched her fist, still holding the book she’d been reading, and one of its pages crumpled and froze before her eyes. Looking up, she realised that Spark was watching her from across the room, and quickly checked herself. It couldn’t be… not after so many years… and even so, she thought she’d broken the connection… how? There was no way… but it  _ did _ happen, that was for sure. She knew  _ what _ , and  _ who _ , but was no closer to finding out  _ why _ than she was to finding out  _ how _ .

Spark was still watching her closely from across the room. He’d somehow looked up from his handheld game at exactly the right moment to watch the pages of her book freeze. On the other hand, Candela hadn’t noticed a single thing, probably due to the music that was still reverberating across the room. She was surprised that Spark was so perceptive. It seemed like he didn’t notice the piece of paper Lia gave her back there in the corridor, but what if he had?

Blanche hoped that he wasn’t perceptive enough to piece everything together.

Spark’s stare was becoming quite creepy, the way his blue eyes followed her every movement. She folded her book and walked out of the room, chancing a glance back at where Spark was seated before she closed the door… he was still watching her.

Suppressing a small shudder, she went into her room, closing the door behind her. Her hand hesitated for a minute… she turned the lock and sat down on the bed, her mind once again on the subject of Team Rocket. What happened just now was strange, and more than a little unsettling… but it could wait. The threat had not be executed yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you aren't perceptive enough to piece everything together. It pretty much defeats the purpose of continuing this story.


	10. Mystic VS Valor, hint 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. So finally, after a really long time on character introductions and generally a very bland plot, here we go. If you must know, I just thought that adding in a Contest would help in showing the three leaders' battle styles, and I picked Contest because I really like Contests, and also because I can't really see Blanche or Spark being in a Pokemon League. Besides, you don't have to go in for the Grand Festival even if you win a ribbon (they can be kept for up to 5 years according to bulbapedia), so it won't really affect leader duties and such.  
> Anyway, I wrote this in like an hour or so because I actually have ideas today. So if there are any mistakes, feel free to point them out... after the last few chapters I've begun proofreading my grammar and things like that but because it's hard to write consistently and I only get the chance to post chapters once in a while, some parts might not tie up with the rest. Let me know if you notice anything and I'll gladly change them.  
> So. Enjoy reading, I guess, and thanks for actually bothering to read this far :)

“Blanche, open the door, for goodness’ sake.” Candela’s voice was muffled by the walls and door, but Blanche could still figure out what she was saying.

“Leave me alone,” she replied, placing her pen as a bookmark on the page she’d been reading and closing the book to get her Pokeballs on the table. It would be too much to expect her fellow team leaders to not break down the door, and if they did, she would be waiting for them.

“Vaporeon, come out,” she said quietly, releasing her Eeveelution from its Pokeball, and keeping all the Pokeballs in the closet.

“Candela, don’t be so blunt,” Spark said. ”You okay, Blanche?”

“Yes.”

“See? Told you she’d say that.” Candela replied.

“You can fool yourself into thinking that,” Candela continued, “but you can’t fool us, you know.”

“You were really pale just now, when your book froze,” Spark added.

“And we both saw you leave the room,” Candela finished.

“Leave me alone,” Blanche insisted. “I’m fine.” 

_ You know, you can’t fool me either _ . Blanche stiffened for a moment. This voice was new. New and unfamiliar, but it didn’t sound dangerous. It sounded… quite like a winter wind.

She was distracted by the shouts coming from outside.

“You can’t break down the door, Candela!” Spark was yelling. “Let’s just  _ go _ already.”

“Fine,” Candela said. Their footsteps and voices faded as they walked further along the corridor, before finally disappearing.

Blanche sat back down on the bed, this time with Vaporeon curled up beside her. She opened her book back to the page.

**NOTABLE AGENTS:**

DOMINO [NO KNOWN POKEMON]

Domino… the agent who called herself the Black Tulip. Exceptionally good at acting, with blonde curly hair and indigo eyes. She moved to the next name.

ANNIE [KNOWN POKEMON: ESPEON]

One of the agents who tried to use the Defense Mechanism of Altamar for their own gain, killing a Latios in the process… 

OAKLEY [KNOWN POKEMON: ARIADOS]

The other agent involved in the above event… Blanche’s pen paused for a while when she reached the next name. She cancelled out ‘[NO KNOWN POKEMON]’ and wrote in its place: [KNOWN POKEMON: KADABRA, VENOMOTH, ALAKAZAM, MR. MIME].

Then in the space between that section and the next, she wrote yet another name, her pen lingering on the last letter as though it didn’t want to let go.

 

Candela and Spark were back. Again. They ran all the way up, apparently, because they were panting, and also because Blanche could hear their footsteps thundering all the way down the corridor.

“This is a long shot, but okay,” Spark said to no one in particular.

“There’s a Pokemon Contest coming up in town soon!” he continued breathlessly.

“...right.” Vaporeon, however, perked up at the words ‘Pokemon Contest’.

“Candela and I are gonna register, what about you?” Spark asked.

“Maybe,” she replied carefully.

There was a groan from outside.

“Why ‘maybe’?” Candela said impatiently. “Just go for it!”

Blanche internally sighed. How she’d managed to preserve her sanity and logic around those two, she really didn’t know.

“ _ Thinking  _ usually comes before  _ doing _ , Candela,” she replied tartly, “unless, of course, the one taking the course of action is you.”

“Why can’t you just loosen up for once?” Candela retorted. “You’re always being so stuck-up!”

Blanche was glad for the locked door now, because it made it easier to not give in to the temptation of attacking Candela with Vaporeon.

“I am  _ not _ being stuck-up,” she said stubbornly. “ _ You’re _ the one who should learn to use a logical thought process in order to come up with the best possible -”

“Spare me,” Candela said rudely, her heeled shoes clicking as she strode off down the corridor.

“Well…” Spark said tentatively, “think about it, okay?” 

Blanche sat back down on her bed, wondering for a moment why she had stood up in the first place. She knew that Candela had never really approved of her constant studying/researching, but she never expected it to go this far. And the GO program was still in a fledgling stage. She thought back to what Professor Willow had told her, Candela and Spark before the official launch of the GO program.

_ “You guys are a team, remember that. You’re going to be leading three different teams of Trainers, but at the end of the day, you’ve still got to work together. There will be differences, and probably some disputes, but if you can make friends with each other and work well together, everything will turn out great.” _

 

“Vapor! Vapor… eon!” Vaporeon’s eager voice brought her back from memory lane.

“Do you want to enter the Contest, Vaporeon?” Blanche asked.

Vaporeon nodded its head eagerly, and she couldn’t help but give in. Switching on her laptop, she found the website she was looking for.

“It says here that we’re supposed to register two Pokemon…” Blanche said as she read from the screen. “I wonder who I should enter.”

“Vapor!” Vaporeon jumped onto the bed again, still looking totally exhilarated.

“Okay, you’re in,” Blanche said, laughing slightly at the little Pokemon’s antics. It would be nice to participate in another contest… 

“Who else should I enter? Blastoise is the only one who’s participated in a contest before, besides you, Vaporeon… but everyone else would do great too…” Vaporeon used its tail to sweep all the Pokeballs out of the closet, and as they fell onto the floor, each of them landed on the white button in the middle, and Blanche’s team of Pokemon materialised before her. The room was really too small for this, but Vaporeon looked so proud that she couldn’t bring herself to scold it.

“That was great, Vaporeon,” she smiled. “Excellent aim, and good idea, too.”

“So…” she continued, looking around at her Blastoise, Dewgong, Cloyster and Lapras. “Anyone else wants to enter the Pokemon Contest?”

 

“Vapor!” Spark could hear Vaporeon’s excited cheers from outside Blanche’s room, where he’d stayed after Candela had left in a huff. He knew he shouldn’t be there, but his instincts told him that he wouldn’t regret it.

There was laughter coming from inside the room, and his eyes widened. He had never heard the leader of Team Mystic laugh, or even seen her smile before, so this was definitely out of the ordinary.

“Okay, you’re in,” Blanche’s voice said, sounding way happier than usual. “Who else should I enter? Blastoise is the only one who’s participated in a contest before, besides you, Vaporeon… but everyone else would do great too…”

Participated in a contest before? That was new. Spark had never imagined Blanche doing anything other than Pokemon research. He’d never knew she was a Coordinator, and wouldn’t have asked, anyway. Candela was right - she did exude a kind of aura that said ‘Go away or else’. But from what he was hearing inside Blanche’s room, there really could be two sides to a person. What he and everyone else saw on the outside was only part of Blanche. But if he tried to get to know her, she always clammed up… well, at least this was a start.

“That was great, Vaporeon. Excellent aim, and good idea, too.”

There was a pause for a while.

“So… anyone else wants to enter the Pokemon Contest?”


	11. Trouble at Midnight

The Contest would be held in a week. During this week, Harmony Centre would be opening its doors to Trainers who wished to live there. Mostly, those who applied were young Trainers who weren’t allowed to travel on their own yet, but a few were siblings, usually with the older one already an experienced Trainer and the younger one just beginning their journey. The Contest had no prerequisites, and registration was closing in half an hour. 

Blanche wrote down the last sentence of her already very lengthy report, gathered up her Contest Pass and Pokeballs, then walked out through the sliding doors at the exit of Harmony Centre. It was raining outside -the storm that had began half an hour ago had not stopped- and the moment the glass doors slid open, the wind blew fiercely against her, as though it was insisting that she go back in. Her watch told her otherwise, that precious time was ticking away. It was 11.43 p.m., and if she didn’t complete her registration within 17 minutes, her chance - her Pokemon’s chance - to participate in another Contest would be lost. It was only a short walk across Harmony Centre’s very large front lawn to the Pokemon Centre. She probably wouldn’t have time to go back for an umbrella, and if she accidentally woke Candela or Spark, they would literally have a fit that she was planning to go out this late at night, and in the rain, too. Using her right arm to shelter her face, she stepped out into the wild night.

 

Spark didn’t remember when the rain started, only that it wasn’t about to end anytime soon. Drop after drop, water crashed down from the sky, never ceasing even for a moment. He’d heard somewhere that the sound of rain was supposed to be calming, and could help with sleep. That was a total lie. The kind of sound coming from outside his bedroom window was more of the noise produced by gunshot than anything remotely peaceful. Apparently, none of his Pokemon had heard a thing. Pikachu was snoozing while curled up in his jacket, and Jolteon occupied the left side of his bed with a sort of spiky regalty. Magneton, Electrode and Electabuzz were in their Pokeballs, which were resting on a shelf beside his bed. Occasionally, one of the Pokeballs would give a serene little wobble. It wasn’t that these three weren’t able to fit into his room, it was just that Spark didn’t really like them out of their Pokeballs during rain or thunderstorms. They were the half of his team who could get overcharged quite easily, which made their behavior both unpredictable and dangerous. With nothing else to do, Spark flicked on the light switch and grabbed the nearest thing to a handheld game, which somehow turned out to be Blanche’s Pokedex. Deciding that he might as well find something to do, he opened it and began reading.

_ Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon.  _ _ Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger. Bulbasaur is one of the three Pokemon that a Trainer can choose as their starter after visiting a Pokemon Professor, the other two being Squirtle and Charmander. Bulbasaur are gentle creatures that have been known to use a technique meant for calming baby Pokemon. They are rarely found in the wild, and are most often encountered under ownership of a Trainer. _

_ Ivysaur, the Seed Pokemon. Ivysaur is the evolved form of Bulbasaur. There is a bud on this Pokémon's back, and to support its weight, Ivysaur's legs and trunk grow thick and strong. Because of the added weight, Ivysaur may lose their ability to stand on their hind legs. When Ivysaur start spending more time lying in the sunlight, it’s a sign that the bud will bloom into a large flower soon. Unlike its Water-type counterpart Wartortle, Ivysaur does not have a signature move. _

_ Venusaur, the Seed Pokemon. Venusaur is the final evolution of Bulbasaur.  _ _ There is a large flower on Venusaur's back, which developed from the seed found on its first evolution, Bulbasaur. The flower is said to take on vivid colors if it gets plenty of nutrition and sunlight. The aroma emanating from the flower’s petals soothes the emotions of people. Venusaur’s signature move is Frenzy Plant, a powerful move that deals significant damage to the opponent, but forces the user to remain immobile on the next turn. _

Frenzy Plant… Spark had never seen that move in action before. It did sound dangerous though, and seemed like a good fit for Venusaur’s signature move.

Without warning, Pikachu’s ears pricked up, and its eyes flew open. “Pika pika! Pika pikachu pi pika!” it scampered over Spark, using its nose to push the window open. The rain had stopped, and an unfamiliar voice was echoing from the outdoor habitat. 

“Venusaur, use Frenzy Plant!”

Then, after a few minutes, another shout. “OH NO YOU DON’T YOU BASTARD…” He’d recognise that voice anywhere. Candela was in the outdoor habitat. Making a quick decision, Spark returned all his Pokemon to their Pokeballs and headed there too.

 

The rain thundered down, assaulting Harmony Centre with a vengeance. Every muscle in Candela’s body felt close to breakdown, but her eyes remained stubbornly open. No matter how she tried, she just couldn’t get to sleep. Every time she tried to close her eyes, she would hear her argument with Blanche echoing constantly in her head. And the more times she heard it, the more she noticed that faint hint of longing behind the tentative “maybe”, the uncertainty behind the words “I am  _ not _ being stuck-up”, the slight tremor in Blanche’s voice, hidden behind an annoyed “Leave me alone”. This would never do… she’d been planning to fit in some training with her Pokemon tomorrow. The time was 11.44p.m., and she rolled over in bed, thinking… Finally, Candela slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Flareon, and tiptoed out of her room to get a hot drink. Without any warning, her foot slipped on something right outside her room door, and she grabbed the doorknob to maintain her balance. It was a piece of paper, covered in small, neat handwriting. She picked it up and read it. It looked like it had only just been dropped, and with all that jargon in it, there could be only one candidate for its author. Still holding the piece of paper, she knocked softly on Blanche’s bedroom door. There was no answer. The door was unlocked, so she pushed it open. The room was immaculate, with everything in its proper place and not a single item out of line. But there was just one problem. Aside from the  Pokeballs resting on the desk - there were only four - Blanche’s room was completely empty. Candela walked over to Blanche’s room window, pushing aside the pale blue curtains. Blanche’s room was directly overlooking the outdoor habitat that Professor Willow had told them about, and she could faintly see the family of Poliwag, as well as some other Bug Pokemon and a Venusaur. There was no way a wild Venusaur should have been able to enter the outdoor habitat… Even as she watched, spiked vines erupted from the ground, hitting all the Pokemon in their path. A lone Poliwag, who was the least injured, ran off in the direction of Harmony Centre’s front lawn. Candela ran back to her room to grab her Pokeballs, before dashing down the stairs that would take her to the hidden door leading to the outdoor habitat.

 

The onslaught of water pelting down from all directions would be hard enough to navigate, even without the wind blowing in Blanche’s face, stinging her eyes and obscuring her vision. It was a stupid idea to come out into the rain, she couldn’t help thinking. After all, she might not even reach the Pokemon Centre in time to register for the Contest. But for the sake of Vaporeon and Blastoise, she had to at least try. There was a faint light ahead, and through all the rain, Blanche could just make out the letter ‘P’, its red glow a comforting sight among all that rain. Thankfully, it was still open. Nurse Joy’s face displayed nothing but shock when the sliding door of the Pokemon Centre closed behind Blanche, and with good reason, too. She was dripping wet and looked like she’d just been drowned.

“What on earth happened?” the pink-haired nurse exclaimed.

“This rain happened,” Blanche replied grimly, gesturing towards a window. “No matter. Nurse Joy, I’m here to register for the Pokemon Contest next week.”

“You walked all the way here in the rain just to register for the Contest?” Nurse Joy was shocked. “You know I would have registered you anyway even if you came tomorrow.”

“Not everyone I’ve met so far is as flexible,” Blanche replied. “I didn’t want to be late, just in case.” 

Within five minutes, she was registered in the Contest, and after thanking Nurse Joy and Chansey, she turned to leave.

“Remember, the first round’s a Double Performance,” Nurse Joy reminded her as the glass doors opened. The rain had vanished.

The night air outside was cool after the rain, and the strong winds had died down with it. Blanche’s clothes were still wet, but she didn’t mind much. After so many years of training with her five water Pokemon, she’d discovered that getting drenched was something she would have to deal with often. The ground was soft under her heeled shoes, and as she walked across the front lawn of Harmony Centre, she could see the Pokemon eyes peeking out at her through the tall grass. She counted a few Bellsprout, some Bug Pokemon, and one Poliwag.

Wait, that couldn’t be right…

“Poli?” The little Pokemon’s huge eyes stared up at her.

“Aren’t you from the family of Poliwag evolutions from the outdoor habitat?” Blanche asked, and it nodded.

“Why are you here, then? Did something happen to the rest of your family?” Poliwag nodded again, and Blanche noticed the bruises on its body.

“Poli… poli poli!” it said, but she didn’t understand it.    
“Wait, Poliwag. Why don’t you speak to Vaporeon instead?” She released her Vaporeon, who cocked its head to one side as it listened to what Poliwag was saying. It then turned towards her, repeating everything it had been told.

“A Venusaur…?” she asked herself quietly. “Could it be the same one that’s been attacking all the wild Pokemon? But why…”

Picking up the injured Poliwag and with Vaporeon following closely behind, she swiftly made her way to the outdoor habitat. The time was 12.00.


	12. The Flame in the Dark

“OH NO YOU DON’T YOU BASTARD…” Candela yelled at the figure standing across the outdoor habitat from her. They were wearing a black uniform that camouflaged perfectly with the inky black night, a beret covering their eyes.

“Valor,” they acknowledged her with a curt nod and a sneer. Their Venusaur’s vines from Frenzy Plant let go of the wild Pokemon to pin Candela to the wall of Harmony Centre. 

“What the fu-” Candela managed to get out, before yet another vine wrapped around her face, blocking her mouth.

“Even Venusaur doesn't like it,” the figure said smoothly. “Watch your mouth. It wouldn't do anyone any good to hear your undoubtedly extensive vocabulary of swear words.”

They turned back to the cowering wild Pokemon at a far corner of the outdoor habitat. “Now, what to do with you… you're not particularly strong if you couldn't stand up to Venusaur…” Candela could feel her blood boiling in her veins as she listened to the figure talk. They weren't the same person who had hurt Flareon, but the sentiment was still the same. Battle a wild Pokemon purely out of fancy, but if it wasn't good enough, leave it injured and weak just because they didn't want it anymore. 

She could feel the fire building up inside her, its growing strength becoming almost unbearable. She tasted smoke in her mouth… then nothing.

 

Spark knew there was something wrong the moment he opened the door to the outdoor habitat. The remains of the Venusaur’s Frenzy Plant were nothing more than ashes, and the figure in the black uniform was watching as though they were paralysed. And for good reason, too. Candela was hovering a foot in the air, flames burning all over her body. Her eyes were glowing red, and even as Spark shouted out her name, he had the distinct feeling that she couldn't hear him. Out of nowhere, a fireball sprang to life in Candela’s fingertips, and he watched in horror as the fireball flew towards the other end of the outdoor habitat, where the group of wild Pokemon were gathered in fear… not to mention that Trainer and their Venusaur…

Jets of water collided with the fireball in mid-air, slowly but surely extinguishing it. 

“RUN!” Spark yelled to the figure, who seemed to come to their senses. Returning their Venusaur to its Pokeball, they sprinted out of the way, taking a flying leap over the fence around the outdoor habitat.

“Is everyone okay?” It was Blanche, a small Poliwag in her arms, with her Vaporeon and Blastoise following closely.

 

Even from a distance, Blanche could see that something was not right. The smell of smoke wafted through the entire floor, and there was fire just visible over the taller fence separating the outdoor habitat from the other parts of Harmony Centre’s extensive greenery.

She'd arrived only just in time to stop the fireball from reaching anyone, only a second later and the consequences were unimaginable. But as Spark shouted at the figure in uniform to run, their black beret had come slightly loose, and she thought she saw a lock of silvery hair reflecting the glow of the moon. But it couldn't be… could it?

“Is everyone okay?” She asked, if only to push the momentary vision to the back of her mind.

“Well… almost.” Spark looked around at all the tired, injured Pokemon, and at Candela, the flames encasing her still burning as brightly as ever. 

“That looks like the flames on…”

“Moltres, yeah. I had no idea this was going to happen, but it did.” Spark sounded unlike his usual buoyant self, more tired, and older. 

“I'll take care of Moltres,” Blanche said. “Try and get the rest of the Pokemon into Harmony Centre. Take them to a laboratory, if you can. The ones here have the best resources.”

“Right,” Spark replied, turning to talk to the group of wild Pokemon.

“Poli - poli wrath!” The Poliwrath, presumably the leader of the group, stood up, throwing out its chest as it walked towards Blanche and her Pokemon, the little Poliwag that she'd met earlier tagging closely behind. 

“They want to help you,” Spark explained, turning around. I told them you were going to attack.”

“Alright then. Vaporeon, Water Pulse. Blastoise, Hydro Cannon. Poliwrath and Poliwag, use the Water-type attacks you know.” The flaming figure turned towards them, hand outstretched for another fireball.

“Now.”

Vaporeon’s Water Pulse was a perfect counter to the fireball, and steam began to cover the entire outdoor habitat. They could still see the flames through the steam, never once faltering. Blastoise’s Hydro Cannon hit its mark, as did Poliwrath’s Water Gun and Poliwag’s Bubble Beam. Slowly but surely, the flames grew fainter… then there was nothing.

“Clear the smoke with Rapid Spin, Blastoise,” she said, squinting to try and make out something through the steam. When it finally cleared, they could see a shadowed form lying on the grass a short distance away… 

“Candela?” Blanche said, kneeling down on the charred grass beside Candela’s unmoving form. A slight frown creased her forehead as she watched a small, wispy trail of smoke slowly rise out of Candela’s mouth, and dissipate into the surrounding air. Candela coughed, weakly, and when Blanche saw that her eyes were back to their usual amber, the slight breath that had been hitched in her throat without her realising was released in a soft hiss.

 

The first sound Candela heard when she opened her eyes was someone breathing out quietly. When everything had stopped being blurry, she saw that the someone was Blanche, looking visibly worried, a change if nothing else from her usual blank expression. 

“Are you alright?” 

Candela sat up, opening her mouth to reply, but her throat was sore, and she coughed instead. Blanche waited for her to recover, returning her Vaporeon and Blastoise to their Pokeballs. 

“Spark took the other Pokemon inside,” she explained as Candela slowly stood up. The world was still spinning slightly around her, blurring her vision. It didn't stop the distinct smell of smoke in the air from reaching her nose, though, and with a pang she realised what must have happened.

“What have I done…” she groaned, holding her head in her hands. Even though she couldn't exactly make out the scenario in the outdoor habitat, she had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty.

“You didn't do anything,” Blanche said firmly, leading the way inside with the Poliwrath and Poliwag following behind. Relying only on her knowledge of Harmony Centre’s layout and Blanche's distinct silhouette in front of her, Candela stumbled through the door, wincing at the bright lights inside. Her head was pounding, and she felt like she'd just been burned from the inside out. Which wasn't very far from the truth. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, but Candela sincerely hoped it would be the last. Moltres was scary enough on a good day, to say the least. She never really knew what would happen around the temperamental Legendary. Sure, Moltres had helped her on several occasions, but there were also other times where they'd both gone too far, and events like this were the consequence. It was lucky Blanche was there when she was, Candela reflected, because the last time Moltres had lost it, well, the least that could be said was that they were lucky that no one was killed. Two steps ahead of her, Blanche turned the corner, holding the door to the lab open. 

Spark was inside, carefully bandaging the wing of a Pidgey. In the corner, a group of Pokemon were happily and raucously chatting with each other, their mingled voices creating quite the ruckus. Candela’s head began spinning again, and she sat down beside Spark.

“Hey,” he greeted her, smiling. “Looks like Blanche and the Water Pokemon worked their magic on you, huh?” Trust Spark to joke in any circumstance.

“Well,” Blanche said as she took a seat on Spark’s other side, “you seem to have some magic of your own going on here, Spark. You really do have a way with Pokemon.”

“Hey, thanks!” Spark grinned. “It wasn't all me, though. That formula you and Candy developed works miracles, all the Pokemon were healed in no time at all!”

“Don't  _ call _ me that,” Candela mumbled, reaching out to pet the Pidgey. To her surprise, it skittered away and nestled itself into Spark’s arm, shielding itself with its wings. Spark’s grin faded, and his shoulders slumped. 

“They remember you,” Blanche said quietly, and that sentence explained everything. “It will take some time…”

Candela yanked her hand away from the Pidgey, stuffing it into her jacket pocket and clenching it tightly. She stared hard at the ball of brown and beige feathers hiding behind Spark’s arm, feeling her throat become tight. Hot tears pooled in her eyes, and she blinked them away, hard. Of course, such a vigorous gesture wouldn't go unnoticed by Spark or Blanche, who were both watching her. Finally, Spark looked down at the Pidgey, running a gentle finger through its feathers.

“You should take a rest,” he said, not looking at Candela. “The boarding Trainers will be here tomorrow…”

Candela tore her gaze from the Pidgey and looked up, eyes flashing. “I'm perfectly capable of losing a couple hours of sleep -”

“I'll talk to the Pokemon,” Blanche suddenly offered. “Spark is right. You've gone through enough for one day.”

“C’mon, Candy,” Spark said reassuringly. “Gotta be your best for the Trainers, right?”

Candela stood up abruptly, ignoring how it made the world swirl in a series of colours. Her shoe caught on the leg of her chair, and she kicked it backwards forcefully. The Pokemon at the side fell silent immediately, watching with fearful eyes.

“I didn't ask for this,” she said angrily, blinking away a few more tears. “I _wouldn't_ ask for this.” The door of the lab slammed behind her, its hollow sound forming a relentless echo.


	13. Not-So-Concidental Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in the perspective of one of my female Pokemon Go trainer OCs.

Even the wind seems different in Kanto. It's a soft breeze, both cool and warm at the same time, and it seems to bring with it the fresh smell of the forests. My ribbon case feels cool inside my yellow sweater, and my Pokeballs bounce slightly on my waist as I walk. Whatever I'd expected this place to look like, it definitely wasn't like this. The path I'm on is a welcome change from the trails that are usually in between Contests, a pale grey stone pavement. Shops and houses line one side of it, and on the other side is a lush forest. The road’s empty today, though. Probably the fact that it's only 7.30 in the morning, but I can just tell it'll be a busy place when its occupants wake up. One of my Pokeballs starts to shake, and out pops my energetic little Pichu. It looks up, cheeks sparking as a big grin spreads across its face. 

“Pichu pichu!” It squeaks, scampering away playfully and turning back to stare at me. I knew what that meant, we'd gone through this enough times already. 

“You might be fast,” I laugh as I run after it, “but I'll catch you this time!” I knew I didn't need to worry, Pichu always came back no matter how far it ran away. Then suddenly, Pichu stopped in front of a pair of black shoes with a green Pokeball pattern. 

“You should take better care of your Pokemon, Haruka,” a familiar voice said as I gathered Pichu in my arms and looked up. My rival and old friend, Brendan. He was taller than I remembered, and he'd taken off the cap he always liked to wear. There was no doubt who it was, though. That friendly yet superbly irritating smirk could only belong to one person I knew. 

“Hey,” I said, smiling. “We meet again, huh?”

“Yeah,” Brendan replied, casting a glance over me as though he was appraising my strength. “Though you don't seem to have changed a bit, if that unruly Pichu of yours says anything.”

“Why are you in Kanto, anyway? Weren't you traveling in Sinnoh?” I asked, choosing to ignore his last comment. I'd traveled together with Brendan in Hoenn when we were both starting out, but later on, we went our separate ways, with him going to Sinnoh and me going to Johto. It was a strange coincidence that we'd end up at the same place at the same time when we hadn't contacted each other in at least a month now.

But Brendan only shrugged. “Why are  _ you _ here, Haruka?” 

I raised an eyebrow, but replied anyway. “To participate in the coming Contest? And to meet the three team leaders, of course.” Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow.

“You joined the program, too? Which team did you pick?”

I turned around, revealing the Team Instinct symbol in black on the back of my sweater. Brendan grinned, flashing the iron-on badge of Team Valor on his left sleeve. “Bet we beat you, Instinct!” he said. I laughed, causing Pichu to tremble in my arms. 

“Always the competitive one,” I replied cheekily. “You're a good fit for Valor all right. BUT, you still haven't told me. Why did you come here?”

“Same as you,” he replied nonchalantly.

“You're here to participate in the Contest?” I asked, taking the opportunity to catch him off-guard.

Brendan went red. “Ah, that. No,” he said, looking flustered. “Actually, I was hoping to watch you in it…”

“That's nice of you,” I replied, trying not to blush, “but don't you get shocked, all right? My style’s changed quite a lot because my Pokemon team did too.”

“Oh?” It looked like hearing about my Pokemon team had sparked his interest again. “Let's see, then.”

I set Pichu down on the floor, throwing my other Pokeballs into the air. My Roselia, Pidgeot, Cleffa and Skitty materialised in front of me, Pidgeot and Cleffa watching Brendan with some apprehension.

“This is Brendan, guys. He's a good friend of mine,” I introduced Brendan to my Pokemon, and Roselia, who'd known Brendan longer than any of my other Pokemon, reached up to shake his hand. Brendan grinned as he returned the handshake, saying that Roselia was being formal as usual.

“Now, it's time for you to see my friends!” Brendan removed six Pokeballs from his belt, releasing his Pokemon. Among them, I recognised from our travels in Hoenn, Combusken (Brendan’s Torchic must have evolved), Breloom and Absol. The others were a Staravia, Glaceon and Monferno, which were Pokemon from Sinnoh. Glaceon padded over, nuzzling my hand. 

“Oh yeah,” Brendan said, watching this with a grin, “I forgot to tell you. Eevee evolved while we were in Sinnoh… other than that its personality is exactly the same…” I rolled my eyes. Brendan’s Eevee had always been over-affectionate, and only towards me. I never really understood it - I was never Eevee’s Trainer - but over time I'd just grown to accept it.

“Hey, it’s almost 8!” I exclaim when the Poketch on my wrist beeps. “C’mon, we gotta go!” Hurriedly returning our Pokemon to their Pokeballs, including a very reluctant Eevee, Brendan and I rushed towards the large building that could only be Harmony Centre. There was someone standing in front of the building, a skinny boy with thick glasses and messy black hair. He was with a Pidgey, and near him was a thick book. He had a notepad in his hand and was writing something down. When we got closer, we could hear him talking to himself.

“Interesting…” he muttered. “So, the candy is made not to force evolution, but to momentarily increase the potential of a Pokemon until it has reached the maximum for its species… which would explain why different Pokemon require candy that is specific to their evolutionary line, and in different amounts…”

Just then, the target that the boy had hung on a nearby tree’s branches was smashed by a Quick Attack from Pidgey. The Pidgey then began glowing, changing in shape and size. When the light cleared, a Pidgeotto stood before us, the red feathers on its head being ruffled by the wind.

“Thanks, Pidgeotto,” the boy said. “Now let’s get you to the Pokemon Centre.”

“Now just hang on a minute,” Brendan said, blocking the boy’s path with folded arms and a glare. “What exactly are you doing here, Marcus? And why did you do that to Pidgeotto?”

The boy, Marcus, looked affronted. “What did you think I was here for? To meet the GO Program’s team leaders and Professor Willow, obviously! And if you really want to know why -”

“Yes, yes,” Brendan sneered, “I know why. All in the name of science as usual, isn’t it?” If anything, his glare seemed to rise in intensity. “I suppose you’ll join Team Mystic?” he added scornfully.

“Wrong, like always,” Marcus said, returning the sneer. On the collar of his shirt was a small pin with the Team Mystic symbol. “I’ve  _ already _ joined. And no offense, but even the seven-year-olds of Team Mystic are probably smarter than you, Brendan. Well, I’ll catch you later when your brain levels up!” He nodded once to me before swaggering off, Pidgeotto following behind.

“That jerk,” Brendan muttered, sending one last scowl Marcus' way, and we ran into the nearby Harmony Centre.

From the inside, Harmony Centre seemed bigger than I thought. The grassy area up front was teeming with Pokemon and the addition of a few early risers. They paid almost no heed to me or Brendan as we dashed past them and entered the sliding doors of Harmony Centre.

“Hello, may I help you?” the receptionist at the counter called to us. I skidded to a halt and had to walk back, but Brendan stopped more quietly and reached there first.

“Yes,” he was saying when I walked up behind him, “we’re looking for the three team leaders and Professor Willow. Do you know where we can find them?”

“Oh… they’re all supposed to be in the library,” the receptionist said, handing a comprehensive map of Harmony Centre to both Brendan and I. “You’re both new around here, aren’t you? I don’t think I’ve seen you two before. You can use these maps to find your way to the library.”

We thanked her and walked to the nearest staircase. Once we were out of earshot, Brendan cast a sidelong glance at me.

“I wonder why she said they’re all  _ supposed _ to be in the library,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that Haruka and Brendan in this chapter are not May (May's Japanese name is Haruka) and her rival Brendan from R/S/E and OR/AS. They are original characters, however, my skills at coming up with new names are in negative numbers. If I had any skills at all, I might have come up with another Donglord-like name for Spark's Jolteon, so I think overall I'm better off without them.


	14. Red, Blue and Yellow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be the last chapter in Haruka's perspective. It was enjoyable writing her, but now I think I'll return back to the format I used before. Expect other chapters in the perspective of characters besides the three team leaders!

There were already a group of Trainers waiting when Brendan and I arrived at the library. They were quite the motley collection - reds, blues and yellows were generally present in their attire, but other than that - well, let’s just say that I’d have no trouble telling them apart. The boy we met from earlier, Marcus, was sitting in one corner with his laptop open, typing something. Right next to him was another boy in red playing a handheld game. Near them, and right in front of the entrance, was a pair of siblings, who were squabbling about something. They looked about the same age, so they might be twins, but they were as different as night and day. The boy in yellow had red hair and freckles, and there was a Weedle perched on his arm, while the girl in red had black hair, glasses and in her arms was a cute little Caterpie.  
“Weedle’s obviously stronger than Caterpie,” the boy was proclaiming loudly. “I hatched it myself!”  
The girl frowned. “Just because you’re - what - three minutes older than me doesn’t make you any better as a Trainer. Caterpie and I are going to be the very best!”  
The boy huffed, folding his arms. “Not if Weedle and I beat you!”  
“Yup,” Brendan muttered as we passed them by, “definitely twins.”  
There were a few Trainers in blue at another end, having a discussion that was packed so full with scientific jargon that I couldn’t understand it if I tried. The youngest among them, a little girl with honey-blond hair, was sitting a little apart from the rest of the group, reading an enormous book that looked almost too big for her.  
“They’re from Team Mystic,” I said, pointing them out to Brendan. He scowled slightly.  
“Nerds,” he replied with a slight sneer. “They couldn’t beat me if they battled me all at once. Half of them probably don’t even have a single Gym Badge, or even a Ribbon.” I shrugged, and we set our things down a short distance away from them, watching another, smaller group of red and yellow-clad kids with their Pokemon. Among them, there was a Rattata, a Pidgey, a Venonat, a Spinarak and a Poochyena. So we weren’t the only ones from Hoenn.   
Just then, the sliding door opened again, and four familiar figures stepped in. Everyone fell silent at once, watching them expectantly.   
“The three team leaders and Professor Willow,” I whispered to Brendan, even though they needed no introduction. Professor Willow and his three assistants were all acclaimed researchers in the many fields of Pokemon studies, and each one of them were talented in their own ways. Spark of Team Instinct focused on Pokemon breeding, and was an expert on the topic of Pokemon eggs. Candela of Team Valor focused on Pokemon strength, and was top-notch at Pokemon battles, having beaten the Champions of several regions. Blanche of Team Mystic focused on Pokemon evolution, and was exceedingly knowledgeable about a Pokemon’s biology.   
Professor Willow stepped forward, addressing all of us. He was wearing a lab coat, but outside of that, his attire was hardly recognizable as that of a Pokemon Professor. He had on a black shirt outlined with luminous green, and black and brown short pants. The half-frames of his black glasses were lost in his messy grey hair, and his running shoes and backpack were both coloured in the same luminous green as his shirt.   
“Welcome, Trainers, to your own Pokemon journey in the Pokemon GO Program! I am Professor Willow, and I have spent my whole life studying Pokemon and their regional distribution. With me today are my three capable assistants - Candela, Blanche and Spark!” The two whom I recognised as Candela and Spark waved at us, smiling, but Blanche merely inclined her head in some sort of weird and way too formal greeting.  
“Each one of my assistants is the leader of one out of three teams - Team Mystic, Team Valor and Team Instinct. Each team specialises in a different area of study. I trust you’ve all picked a favourite among the three, but hear all three of the leaders out, alright? Choose your team wisely, as they can affect the direction of your Pokemon journey in future!”  
Spark bounced forward, grinning at all of us. His necklace with Team Instinct’s symbol glints, and in his gloved hand is a Pokeball. His outfit consisted of a golden-yellow hoodie, a black jacket with yellow outlines, long black pants, and black running shoes with yellow soles.  
“The name’s Spark - the leader of Team Instinct. Pokemon are creatures with excellent intuition. I bet the secret to their intuition is related to how they’re hatched. Come and join my team! You never lose when you trust your instincts!” He winked at all of us, a Jolteon materializing from the Pokeball in his hand. It bounded around the room excitedly just as a Pikachu popped up from inside his hoodie. I couldn’t help laughing, and neither could a few others. Even Brendan had to stifle a grin. They were so cute!  
Blanche was next. She cast a slightly annoyed glance at Spark and his Pokemon, before saying, in a quiet and formal tone, “I am Blanche, leader of Team Mystic. The wisdom of Pokemon is immeasurably deep. I am researching why it is that they evolve. With our calm analysis of every situation, we can’t lose!” A Vaporeon came out of Blanche’s Pokeball, regarding all of us with its dark purple eyes as its long tail swished left and right.   
“Like Trainer, like Pokemon,” Brendan whispered. “They’re a good fit for each other. You should give her your Roselia, Haruka.” I grinned, threatening in another whisper to have Roselia blast him with Solar Beam.  
Candela stepped forward next, smiling confidently. She had on an angular white jacket with hints of red, as well as tight black stockings. Her white and red heels glaringly reflected the light from the library’s ceiling lights. “I’m Candela - Team Valor’s leader! Pokemon are stronger than humans, and they’re warmhearted, too! I’m researching ways to enhance Pokemon’s natural power in the pursuit of true strength. There’s no doubt that the Pokemon our team have trained are the strongest in battle! Are you ready?” She, like Spark and Blanche, was holding a Pokeball in her hand, and as she punched her hand outwards, the Pokeball burst open, revealing a cute and fluffy Flareon. It jumped up onto Candela’s shoulder, nestling around her neck like a scarf.   
Professor Willow stepped forward again. “So,” he said, “now that you’ve heard from all three team leaders, I’m going to tell you about Harmony Centre. During your stay here, you’ll be allowed to use all the facilities in the centre…”  
“Excuse me, Professor.” Blanche had her Vaporeon in her arms as she spoke. “More specifically, Trainers are allowed to use all facilities in the centre except for the Restricted Section of the Library and Lab Four, the use of which they must obtain permission from their team’s leader.”  
“Er… yes, that,” Professor Willow said once Blanche had finished. But before he could start speaking again, the twin with red hair raised his hand.  
“Why aren’t we allowed to use Lab Four and the Restricted Section?” he asked, earning a few exasperated glances from the others.  
“Doesn’t he know the meaning of Restricted?” one of the Team Mystic members snickered to the others.  
Blanche moved her icy stare in the direction of the perpetrator, who flushed and turned away. “I can explain,” she said. “Lab Four is the most crucial lab in the whole centre, containing experiments that are key to the progress of each team. Those of you who show prowess in your team’s specialisation areas, as well as in research skills, will be allowed to work on these experiments. However, only the top Trainers can be entrusted with these experiments. The Restricted Section is another matter altogether. It contains information that many desire but few can be trusted with, and an extensive network of traps. For those foolish enough to set these traps off, they may cost you your life. Thus, while Lab Four is restricted to those with sufficient skill. The Restricted Section is restricted to those who do not want to die an exceedingly painful death.” It was no wonder why the boy looked scared when Blanche had finished her explanation.   
“Thank you, Blanche,” Professor Willow said, continuing with his explanation. “There is an area within Harmony Centre with many wild Pokemon that you can catch - I trust you’ve passed by it on your way up - and a forest just nearby. While we will do our best to keep you safe while you are within Harmony Centre’s grounds, we have no control over what happens outside. So if you do want to enter the forest, try not to go alone. Make sure that you have at least two Pokemon capable of battling before you go in, and don’t try anything too risky. We can’t be sure that we’ll be notified in time.”  
The young girl from Team Mystic raised her hand. “How do we notify you if anything goes wrong?”  
Professor Willow smiled. “Good question! After this session, which will end soon, you’ll be able to register your respective team leaders in your PokeNavs. If you don’t have a PokeNav yet, you can come and get one from me any time. And one more thing, before you go. There are two kinds of calls you can make using your PokeNav, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get an answer all the time. One is the Alert Call, which you can use when something is happening that’s not life-threatening. These calls might not be answered by your leaders, depending on how occupied they are. In that case, you can always call a friend of yours. The second type of call is the Emergency Call, which is the one you use when something life-threatening is happening. These calls will always be answered by your leaders. However, they have all right to remove you from their contacts list if you misuse the Emergency call function, so make sure that it is an emergency and you need help to solve it.” He looked round at all of us. “Well, I know you think I’m being a long-winded old man, but I’m done now!” he joked, generating a few laughs.  
Brendan and I split up after that, with me following the Instinct members towards Spark, while he goes towards Candela. Spark’s face spreads into a wide grin when he sees us, saying brightly, “Hi, I’m Spark! Thanks so much for joining Team Instinct! Welcome to the family!” I feel my face getting hot, and there is only one though spiraling through my head - from now on, it would be my duty to protect him. With my life. When I register Spark in my PokeNav, he cocks his head to one side, observing me for a while. Then his mouth forms an ‘O’ shape, and he proclaims loudly, “I knew I’ve seen you before somewhere!”  
“Wh-what?” I stammer, going red again.  
“You’re Haruka, aren’t you? I saw you in the Grand Festival! They were screening it on TV, and you were great! You’re going to be in the Contest here, aren’t you!” he said exuberantly.  
“Oh, yeah, I will,” I say, when a new, scary thought pops up in my head. My eyes widen, and Spark stares at me looking surprised.   
“Oh no!” I cry, not even caring that a few people were staring at me, “I missed the registration… the ferry was late…” Saying a hurried goodbye to Spark, I dash out of Harmony Centre and into the Pokemon Centre. Nurse Joy looks up as my running shoes screech across the smooth orange tiles of the Pokemon Centre.  
“Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Centre! Would you like me to heal your Pokemon?” she asks, even as her face shows nothing but surprise.  
“Er… actually, I’m here to register for the Pokemon Contest,” I say. “Am I too late?”  
“I’m afraid you are,” Nurse Joy said sympathetically. “The registration closed at midnight yesterday, and I’ve just submitted the list of all the participating Coordinators.”  
“Nurse Joy!” Spark’s voice came from behind me, and I jump in surprise.  
“Leader Spark,” Nurse Joy greeted respectfully. “How may I help you?”  
“Actually, I’d like you to help Haruka here enter the Contest.” My jaw drops. I must look like a Goldeen, but at that point I couldn’t care less. Spark, of all people, wanted to help me.   
“Oh…” Nurse Joy still looked reluctant. “I’m really very sorry, but the documents have already been sent…”  
“I can arrange that,” Spark said, and there’s something strange about his eyes for a moment, something I can’t quite put my finger on. For that one moment, he looks way scarier than anyone I’ve ever seen.   
“I… oh, alright,” Nurse Joy said with a certain degree of defeat, before turning to me. “Haruka, do you have a Kanto Contest Pass?”  
I shook my head. “No, this is my first contest in Kanto.”  
Nurse Joy nodded. “In that case, I’ll need your Trainer ID…” As I handed over my ID to the pink-haired nurse, Spark’s phone beeped. When he checked it, his mouth fell open in a comical ‘O’ shape. Dismay is written all over his face.  
“Oh, shoot! Sorry, gotta go! Catch ya’ later Haruka, bye Nurse Joy!” he said very quickly before dashing off like all the Zubats in Mt. Moon were after him.  
Nurse Joy didn’t even blink. I suppose she must be used to it by now. “Well, Haruka, here is your Kanto Contest Pass and your ribbon case… you’re entered in the Contest!”  
After thanking Nurse Joy, I stuffed my Contest Pass and Trainer ID into my wallet, running back towards Harmony Centre with my ribbon case half hanging out of my sweater and wondering where Brendan would have gotten by now.


	15. The Conference Room

When Spark dashed into the conference room, Blanche, Candela and Professor Willow were already there.

“Where were you?” Professor Willow asked. “Weren't you with us just now?”

“Uh, yeah,” Spark said, flopping noisily into a chair and earning a glare from Blanche, “just helping one of my team register for the Contest coming up.”

“Alright then,” the Professor said, “so now we are all here, let's begin. You all know about what happened yesterday night…”

“I don't want to talk about what happened yesterday night,” Candela scowled, saying it both politely and pointedly, something no one else Spark met had successfully done before.

“Oh.” The Professor thought for a while, before continuing, “Let's approach it from a different angle, then. You all know about the Gym Leaders’ Conference taking place at the Indigo Plateau in a couple of months -”

“Sorry for interrupting, Professor, but I believe the actual date would be in two months and four days,” Blanche interjected.

The Professor only blinked, but Candela’s face had annoyance written all over it. “Why,” she hissed, “do you have to be such a know-it-all! Who cares if it's in two months or two months and four days! Big deal! You've already interrupted the Professor in front of all those Trainers just now, and you're not done with making him look stupid yet?”

Professor Willow looked from Candela’s angry face to Blanche’s nonchalant one, trying to find a way for him to be heard, and eventually giving up, sharing a hopeless look with Spark. “This happens all the time,” he mouthed, and the Professor sighed. It had seemed like a good idea to get both Candela and Blanche on the same team, especially since they were polar opposites - literally. But now… maybe not.

“Honestly, I don't even know how people put up with you. I for one am irritated out of my mind,” Candela snapped.

“The sentiment is mutual,” Blanche replied coldly, turning her back on Candela and focusing on Professor Willow instead. “We -  _ I  _ \- apologise for the temporary disturbance,” she continued, ignoring the poisonous look Candela sent her way.

“Er… okay,” Professor Willow said. “So. About the conference… even though you're technically not Gym Leaders, it will be good experience for you to go… not to mention I have contacts among the Gym Leaders of Kanto who wouldn't mind having you there. However, this means you'll be leaving your team alone for a few days.”

Blanche frowned when she heard that. “We don’t have to go…”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Professor Willow shook his head, “you’re all going. What i meant, is that you’ll need a capable member of your team to take care of everything while you’re gone. Now, in ordinary circumstances I would suggest you choose the oldest member of your teams, however, since the program accepts new members regardless of skill, age isn’t really a good determining factor here. You’ve all got to go out and observe your team members to find the best candidate.”

Spark grinned cheekily. “Are you sure this isn’t some kind of plot to get Blanche to go out and talk to people?”

Candela joined in his laughter, but unlike Spark’s innocent giggles, she was rather enjoying the look on Blanche’s face. At some other time, she might have thought about the fact that her fellow team leader might feel hurt, but now, she couldn’t care less.

“No,” Professor Willow replied firmly. “Meeting adjourned.”

“Great,” Candela’s face held a vindictive expression, “I’m going to train before I punch someone into next week.” As it had the previous night, the door banged shut behind her.

Blanche and Spark made to leave, too, but stopped when the Professor called them back. “Wait. I think I should tell you something.”

“What’s wrong?” Spark asked, occupying the same seat as he did before, and trying not to think about how empty the room suddenly felt.

“Candela’s going through a rough time right now,” Professor Willow said. “Moltres was never inclined to bond with her…”

“What do you mean?” Blanche asked, raising her eyebrows. “If Moltres did not originally choose Candela, then why -”

“I’ll explain. Moltres chose Candela’s older brother.” Professor Willow replied.

“Wait, you mean Cameron?” Spark said, sitting up in his chair. Both Professor Willow and Blanche stared at him, and he felt his cheeks grow hot. “Oh… I met him when I challenged the Cinnabar Gym,” he explained quickly. “I didn’t know he was Candela’s brother.”

“I don’t exactly want to ask, but what happened to him?” Blanche turned back to the Professor, who sighed.

“He couldn’t handle the bond,” was the quiet reply. “Candela was the one who completed it. If Blaine is correct, then her family still bears a grudge against her… simply because she survived.”

“Just because she survived?” Spark said. “That’s horrible.”

“Moltres and Candela aren’t supposed to be bonded,” Professor Willow continued. “Their relationship is based on mutual respect alone… respect for each other’s strength… and it’s been rocky since the beginning. Candela is an undoubtedly talented Trainer, but I think after yesterday, Moltres has become more aware of whatever goes on around Candela. It sensed Articuno, Blanche. They’ve been feuding for ages now.”

“I understand,” Blanche replied. “So that was merely Moltres?”

“Yes,” Professor WIllow replied, looking relieved. “Candela would not have said those words.”

“One more question, Professor?”

“What is it, Blanche?”

“Is Blaine your only contact among the Kanto Gym Leaders?”

“No.” Professor Willow smiled. “You’ll know who else I contacted once you go there.”

***

“Candela’s in here,” Spark said, pointing to the door labeled as Training Arena 1. “The door’s unlocked.”

“How did you know?” Blanche tested the doorknob, and it was indeed unlocked. She opened it slightly, revealing Candela with her Flareon and Charizard. She was saying something about the Contest.

“Instinct?” Spark replied, shrugging. 

“Well, I’ll see you later, then,” Blanche said as she shut the door quietly. “Candela’s right. I’ll need to train for the Contest, too.”

“Does this mean you’re in?” Spark said excitedly.

“No.”

“Okay, whatever,” Spark laughed, watching Blanche walk off. He thought back to what Professor Willow had said, and what he’d seen of Blanche and Candela so far. They might not get along, but everything would be okay in the end. His instinct told him so.


	16. The Performance Round

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the newest addition to our prestigious Kanto Pokemon Contests - the Harmony Contest! You sure are excited today, and so am I! We’re going to have talented Coordinators from different regions compete here today, and the best among them all will be awarded  _ this _ \- the beautiful Harmony Ribbon! I’m your host, Lillian, and I’m very pleased to be here with all you wonderful people! Now, let’s introduce our three esteemed judges for today! First up, we have the Director of the Contest Committee, Mr. Contesta!”

“Thank you!” the man in a red suit with accents of grey, white and black in his hair, waving at the enthusiastic crowd.

“Next, Mr. Sukizo, head of the Pokemon Fan Club!”

“You’re all remarkable!” the short man with grey hair said, smiling as the audience cheered.

“And last but not least, presenting… your very own Nurse Joy!”

“Thank you,” Nurse Joy said, bobbing her head graciously.

“So now we have all our judges, let the Contest begin!” Lillian punched the air enthusiastically as more cheering erupted from the crowd. “The first round will be the Performance Round! But… this Performance Round will be unlike any other in Kanto, because we’re going to have a Double Performance! Coordinators will choose TWO Pokemon instead of one to participate in this round, and they’ll be judged based on how well they show off the style of their Pokemon! Now… LET’S GET BUSY!” As Lillian shouted her famous line, the cheering was so loud that the entire Contest Hall seemed to be trembling slightly.

“I am honestly surprised at all this noise,” Candela said, watching the stage from the television. “I mean, none of the Leagues I’ve gone to had such a loud audience. Are Contests that exciting?”

Spark shrugged. “Maybe. Though it’s usually only Lillian who can get the crowd to yell like that. It’s a little scary, actually, when they do that and you’re trying not to mess up-”

“Hold on a moment. You’ve been in Contests?” Candela stared curiously at Spark. “Weren’t you in the Indigo League?”

“Yeah, I was,” Spark replied, his usual grin still on his face. 

“Then why did you enter Contests?”

“I dunno. I only did after the League, because I was undecided on what I should do. My Pokemon are good battlers, and I like a challenge now and then, but it wasn’t really what we wanted, so I tried this for a while. I didn’t get far in the Grand Festival, though.” He laughed ruefully. “Some dude with green hair and an attitude came along and totally kicked my butt in the battle rounds.”

A young girl with honey-blond hair was on the stage with her Butterfree and Espeon, doing a routine involving forming different shapes in the air with Stun Spore and Confusion. They could hear another Coordinator’s Pokedex beeping faintly as it scanned the two Pokemon.

“She’s not bad,” Spark said, as the Espeon’s Psychic tore apart its companion’s tornado of Stun Spore and Silver Wind, creating tiny sparkles that floated down on the trio and the audience. “Let me see if I know her… what did Lillian say her name was?”

“I didn’t hear,” Candela said, shrugging as she looked around. “Hey, did you manage to convince Blanche to enter, in the end? I don’t see her.”

“Perhaps,” Spark replied, cheekiness dancing in his eyes. “You’ll see.”

“So Blanche is here!” Candela smirked at the surprise on Spark’s face. “What, you didn’t think I’d get it right? But where? Did you see her?”

“Oh, yeah,” Spark said. “I did! She told me to return her Pokedex this morning, before you got up…”

“Didn’t know you were an early riser, Spark,” Candela teased. “Weren’t you only awake ten minutes after me?”

“Ah, no,” he replied, leaning back against the lockers on the side of the waiting room, “Just for five minutes, to check on the eggs.”

“Oh well,” Candela said, focusing back on the television that was broadcasting the Contest live, “might as well observe the competition for a while, before we get called. What were the numbers again? Thirty-something?”

“Wasn’t it around forty?” Spark asked, confused, as a kid with a Kecleon and Gastly exited the stage. “Wait a minute, what?”

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know either!” Candela replied, shrugging. “We’ll just have to listen, I guess.”

***

“Butterfree… slightly larger than average, quite strong, we’ll have to watch out for that Stun Spore, and Espeon, small and agile but still a formidable opponent. They’re sure to get past the appeals, so we have to watch out for them, okay, Vaporeon?” Blanche scanned the two Pokemon on her Pokedex, drawing up other data about their Trainer.

“So her name is Rue from Azalea Town, that explains the Butterfree… Top eight in the Johto Grand Festival, and she’s only twelve.” Watching the small girl on stage commanding her Pokemon with the ease of any seasoned Coordinator, it was hard to believe that she was so young. She was perfectly at home on the Contest stage, and her Pokemon were just as well-trained as some of the older Coordinators Blanche had met before. 

The next entry was a boy, younger than Rue, looking like he was in his first Contest. His idea of creating a juggling sequence with Will-O-Wisp and Double-Slap was commendable, but failed when his Jigglypuff got burned and began panicking, necessitating the intervention of Nurse Joy when the little pink puffball accidentally fell off the stage in its confusion. Even if they did get into the battle rounds, they wouldn’t be much competition. Unusual for a Contest to have that many rookie Coordinators, Blanche thought. Perhaps it was Harmony Centre that was attracting new Trainers. She returned to the usual Contest routine of documenting information on Coordinators whom she thought might be potential opponents, completely ignoring the conversations of the others in the room.

***

“Hey! Spark! Isn't that kid the one you were standing behind during the registration? I think you're up next!”

“What?! Really? Oh, shoot, where am I supposed to go…?” Spark leapt up from the bench he had been sitting on, grabbing his jacket and Pokeballs, before dashing out of the waiting area.

***

“You're all in for a huge surprise when our next entrant comes on stage! And you'll be even more surprised when I tell you that he’s no newbie, and was actually in the Grand Festival before! Let's all welcome everyone's favourite Pikachu lover and talented breeder - the leader of Team Instinct, Spark!” Raucous cheers erupted from the crowd when Lillian finished speaking, and all eyes were on Spark, who shrugged on his jacket over his yellow Pikachu shirt and blue jeans while running onto the stage. 

Blanche looked up in surprise when she heard Spark’s name. Him, a Coordinator? It was hard to imagine, and she tried to pull up any data on her laptop about him. There it was, and it was true. He had been in the Grand Festival, probably one or two years after her, which meant that they had been traveling in different regions at the time. She watched as Spark pulled out two Pokeballs from an inside pocket of his jacket. His Magneton and Jolteon materialised before him, buzzing with static electricity. 

“Okay, Jolteon. Dig, then Thunder! Magneton, do Lock-On.” Bolts of electricity spread out from the hole that Jolteon had dug, covering the whole stage in a crackling layer of static, distracting the crowd while Magneton aimed for a spot on the ceiling of the arena. 

“Now Zap Cannon, Magneton! Jolteon, you use Pin Missile.” The ball of green-blue electricity combined with the white streaks of Pin Missile as it shot towards Magneton’s target, forming what looked like a white comet with green and blue crackling along its length. It exploded on contact with the ceiling, and showers of white, green and blue rained down on the audience as well as the judges. When these small sparkles touched the static still creeping on the stage, they formed larger jolts of electricity, making the stage a display of vibrant colour.

“Using Jolteon’s moves to draw attention away from Magneton while it did Lock-On was indeed a creative strategy,” Mr. Contesta praised. “A stunning display.”

“Yes, indeed. Very remarkable,” agreed Mr. Sukizo.

“How you made such a simple routine become this dazzling was amazing! Your Pokemon have definitely been raised very well,” Nurse Joy smiled.

Spark grinned as he ran off the stage on the other side, Jolteon and Magneton zooming along behind him, their expressions just as happy as his. It was obvious that Spark must have entered them into Contests before.

“Now for our next contestant! This may be her first Contest, but she’s no rookie Trainer for sure! You’ll all know that she’s won more than one Pokemon League in her time, of course, and even beaten a few regions’ Champions - a  _ remarkable _ feat, if I may say so myself - so let’s all give her a big hand! Presenting… the leader of Team Valor, Candela!” If anything, the cheers of the crowd only grew even louder when Candela jogged onto the stage. She had swapped her usual outfit for a more sporty one, and was wearing a red sweater emblazoned with the words ‘TEAM VALOR’ on the front in white, as well as the team’s motto on the back in the same colour. Her shoes had also been changed from high-heels to red and white sports shoes, and she had her Pokeballs clipped to a white belt.

“Time to heat things up,” she declared as she removed two of the Pokeballs from her belt. “Charizard! Flareon! I choose YOU! Flareon, Sunny Day!”

The audience watched in awe as the light of the sun steadily grew brighter, increasing the power of Fire-type moves. 

“Now Solar Beam and Overheat!” Candela commanded, and while light collected at Charizard’s mouth, Flareon’s body glowed red as flames grew at its mouth. The two attacks combined in the air, and formed a large, pulsing ball of energy surrounded by white, orange and red flames.

“Flareon, onto Charizard’s back! Steel Wing and Iron Tail!” Candela commanded, and the two Steel-type attacks hit the ball of energy together. Nothing happened for a while as Flareon and Charizard swiftly flew back onto the stage, then it exploded with a vengeance, shocking everyone present. Tiny bits of it rained down, bursting halfway like mini fireworks.

“Whew! That was a shock you gave us! Let’s see what the judges thought of it,” Lillian took charge of the stunned crowd, calling their attention back to the stage.

“That was… quite the explosive performance,” Mr Contesta said slightly shakily, still recovering from the shock.

“Ah, yes. Remarkable,” Mr Sukizo commented.

“Your Pokemon are definitely strong, and very well-trained!” Nurse Joy praised, and the fiery trio bowed to the audience before exiting the stage.

***

“You scared me so badly just now!” Spark met Candela in the hallway to the waiting rooms, a look of mock indignance on his face. Then it split into a wide smile. “You were great up there! No one would have guessed it was your first time!”

Candela laughed. “Thanks,” she said, and the two gave each other a fist-bump. “You were awesome too! I’m pretty sure there was still static all over the stage when I stepped on it.”

“C’mon, then. Let’s go check out the others,” Spark led the way to the waiting room, marveling at how different Candela was without Moltres, and hoping fervently that it would last. 

***

“Our second-last Coordinator is another familiar face to all of you for sure, though some of you might be surprised! And if you’ve been following Contests for as long as I have, you’ll know that she’s not to be messed with, winning her first Ribbon Cup at the young age of thirteen, and going on to win a few others, too! Welcoming the leader of Team Mystic - Blanche!”

“Ha! So she did enter!” Candela said triumphantly, punching Spark in the arm. To her great surprise, he brushed off the punch as though it wasn’t there, staring open-mouthed at the television screen. Candela followed his gaze, and promptly received another shock.

“Holy Miltank,” she said, watching the Coordinator on the stage. Other than her hair’s usual side parting and the blank expression on her face, Blanche was totally unrecognisable. The first thing Candela noticed was that her hair was much longer than earlier suspected when it was untied, reaching almost to her waist. The hair band that she usually used to tie her hair was on her wrist, like a bracelet. The second thing was that she had changed her look completely. Instead of her usual dark blue bodysuit with her light blue and white lab coat, she was wearing a long-sleeved blouse with a colour gradient from white to blue, paired with loose blue pants. The light blue belt that held Blanche’s Pokeballs, and was usually seen hanging unfastened on her lab coat, was resting securely on her waist. Only two Pokeballs were clipped onto the belt. Her eyes flickered towards the first row of the audience for a moment, before going back to studying the stage.

“Vaporeon and Blastoise. Take the stage!” The two Pokemon appeared on the stage, Vaporeon at the back, and Blastoise in the centre.

“So she went for her starter and Eeveelution, too,” Spark murmured, thinking hard. Blanche and Candela, though at the far ends of the scale for most things, shared more in common than they’d like to admit. It was a shame that they hardly got along well. Together, they would make a formidable - maybe even unstoppable - team, with each covering the other’s weaknesses and enhancing both their strengths. 

For now, though, he was fixed on the screen, where Blanche was firing off rapid commands to her Pokemon without even looking excited in the least. It seemed that her Pokemon knew their movesets just as well as she did, for they obeyed without question.

“Water Pulse, and Rapid Spin,” were her first instructions, and the pair immediately sprang into action. Vaporeon’s Water Pulse hit the centre of the stage just as Blastoise began spinning, and the innocent little pulse of water morphed into a huge whirlpool. 

“Quick Attack up, now tilt,” and though Vaporeon and Blastoise understood it perfectly, an outsider would be utterly confused about which Pokemon each command was meant for. A good battle strategy, but one that required more than a little practice. As Blastoise’s Rapid Spin began tilting from side to side, the water from the whirlpool gathered in a column of water that rose akmost to the ceiling.

“Water Pulse and Ice Beam,” the frozen Water Pulses shot at the column of water, and though Vaporeon’s Ice Beam was undoubtedly strong, they shattered upon contact with the fortress that Blastoise had managed to make.

“Again, and  _ now _ .” When the second Water Pulse and Ice Beam combination had struck the water column, Blastoise burst out of it just as Vaporeon lifted off from the stage using Quick Attack. The two Pokemon met in mid-air with a triumphant high-five (Vaporeon used its tail) while the water and ice combination splashed off the stage, making it rain for those in the first few rows.

“A very creative performance,” Mr Contesta said as he wrung out his drenched red suit. “Although the end effects could have been less… erm…  _ devastating _ .”

“A most remarkable display!” Mr Sukizo smiled, apparently oblivious of the water dripping down his face.

“Your Pokemon are very strong and well-trained! It was a pleasure to watch you.” Nurse Joy seemed to have escaped getting wet altogether, but how she did it, no one knew. 

“Well, yes, that was indeed an amazing performance, strongly displaying not only the strength of the Pokemon, but the closeness between Pokemon and Trainer,” Lillian said, squeezing out some water from her damp orange hair as Blanche and her Pokemon exited the stage.

***

“Why,” demanded Candela, who had accosted Blanche in the same walkway that Spark had met her in, “didn’t you  _ ever _ tell us you won the Grand Festival?” Then after a short pause punctuated by the silver-haired team leader’s slight stammers, Candela’s expression changed immediately. “You were great out there!” 

“Well, I -” Blanche’s flustered stammering was broken when Candela grabbed her wrist, leading her off together with Spark. Though she flinched and pulled back, it was slightly encouraging to see that she wasn’t going away in a different direction. Spark dashed ahead to sneak a peek at the TV screen, before calling, “Hurry up! The next Coordinator’s on stage already!”

***

“Our last contestant - and quite a last-minute entry, too - should be another familiar face to those of you from Hoenn and Johto! She’s quite the force to be reckoned with, too, reaching the top eight in the Hoenn Grand Festival and top TWO in Johto! Let’s welcome… Haruka!”

“Oh, I know her!” Spark exclaimed loudly. “She’s good.”

“Roselia! Pidgeot! Spotlight!” Haruka tossed her two Pokeballs into the air, revealing her Roselia and Pidgeot. 

“ _Roselia, the Thorn Pokemon._ _Roselia shoots sharp thorns as projectiles at any opponent that tries to steal the flowers on its arms. The thorns on this Pokémon’s head contain a vicious poison._ _The more healthy the Roselia, the more pleasant its flowers’ aroma, which_ _brings serenity to living things._ _On extremely rare occasions, a Roselia is said to appear with its flowers in unusual colors. The colors are said to come from nutritionally rich springwater._ _However, the beautiful flowers on its arms have toxic thorns. Don’t even think about picking them.”_ Blanche’s Pokedex recited in a monotone voice as she lifted it up to scan the green Pokemon on stage.

“ _ This Roselia is under the ownership of a Trainer. It knows Petal Dance, Magical Leaf, Solar Beam and Growth. It is approximately 0.25m tall and weighs about 1.3kg, slightly smaller than the average for its species.” _

“Let’s start things up with Petal Dance and Whirlwind!” The combination formed a sparkling tornado of petals.

“Start charging Solar Beam, Roselia! Pidgeot, fly up high!” As Pidgeot zoomed towards the clouds, a glowing ball of energy began forming at each of Roselia’s flowers.

“Aerial Ace, and Solar Beam!” Haruka called, and Pidgeot dived towards the ground, skimming the stage and streaking upwards again… right into the path of Roselia’s Solar Beam. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "some dude with green hair and an attitude"  
> The timeline of this story is completely mixed up, so...


	17. The Battle Round

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I like cliffhangers.

“Please don’t get hit… please don’t get hit… please don’t get…”  
“Spark, it’s alright! Look!” Candela shook Spark’s shoulder, getting him to move his hands away from his eyes. He found the TV screen in time to see Pidgeot disappear, appearing above Solar Beam and seeming to glow in the bright light. The audience were sold, some even giving Haruka and her Pokemon a standing ovation as Pidgeot glided gracefully onto the stage beside her and Roselia.   
“Oh wow,” he breathed. “I had no idea Aerial Ace would do that… it was so amazing!”  
“It was.” Blanche was scanning Pidgeot with her Pokedex now, and recording some information down on a Trainer card template beside a picture of Haruka. “Those in the Battle Round will have to watch out for her.”  
“Wait a minute. You mean not everyone’ll be in the next round?” Candela whirled round in her seat, an expression of shock on her face.  
“Correct,” Blanche replied. “The judges will choose four Coordinators - eight in larger Contests like this one - out of all entrants, who did the best in the Performance Round, to go on to the next round.”  
“Oh, damn…” Candela thought back to her performance with Flareon and Charizard. Surely it couldn’t have been too bad, even though a few other performances had definitely outclassed it…   
“And now, the judges have finished with their choice! Before I tell you which Coordinators are going to move on to the Battle Round, let’s go through a few rules. If you’re chosen to move on to the second round, choose ONE Pokemon out of the two that were in your performance to battle beside you. Your choice will definitely affect your performance in this round, so choose wisely! But take a second from your thinking to look at this board, because the eight of you who will be moving on… here they are!” Lillian pointed to the huge board suspended over the stage, where the pictures of some Trainers were appearing…  
“Haruka’s first… wow... and, oh hey Blanche! You’re in!” Spark cheered as the pictures were shown. “Look, there’s me! Sweet! And you’re up there too, Candela… we’re all in! Awesome!”  
Candela let out a sigh of relief. “Whew. Okay, Charizard,” she said, taking out her starter’s Pokeball, “you’re it. Let’s win this thing!”  
Meanwhile, Blanche was scrolling through the data of the other Coordinators’ Pokemon. The two Pokeballs on her lap felt a lot heavier than usual, and she knew that both Pokemon were equally eager to be in the Battle Rounds. But she could only choose one.   
Spark was in a similar dilemma, balancing Jolteon and Magneton’s Pokeballs in his hands, staring at each of them in turn. He knew how psyched they both were to be in a competition again, almost to the point of being more psyched than he was…  
“Pika. Pika pikachu pi pika!” Pikachu stuck its head out of Spark’s jacket to give its opinion, waving a paw at Blanche and Candela.  
“Pika pikachu!” The electric rodent scampered down his shoulder, tapping one of the Pokeballs lightly. “Pi pika pika!” It puffed up its chest, as though saying “I’m always right.”  
“Okay, then, buddy,” Spark grinned, fluffing the Pikachu’s cheeks as it climbed back into his jacket to nap. “I’ll go with your choice. I’m sure they won’t mind.”  
***  
The three of them got through the first rounds of battle with relative ease, since they had been paired with Trainers other than themselves. Through Blanche’s battle with Rue, she discovered that the child was a novice Trainer after all, having far-from-perfect battling skills, despite the obvious beauty of her moves and the way she communicated with her Pokemon. It might have had something to do with the huge disparity in levels of their Pokemon, but Rue was unfazed by the loss and instead smiled, staring at Blanche and Vaporeon with obvious admiration in her eyes. Candela’s battle had been against a Water-type, and though Charizard had taken some damage from BubbleBeam while charging up its attack, one Solar Beam was enough to one-hit KO her opponent’s Pokemon. Her Charizard was definitely well-trained, and its stats were good all around the board. Especially since Blanche had chosen to battle with Vaporeon, she would have to be especially careful. Spark’s battle passed just as quickly, with Magneton only taking a minor hit from Tackle before hitting back with Zap Cannon. Because of Lock-On, it couldn’t miss, and although the opponent’s Pokemon wasn’t weak to Electric moves, the high power of the move was enough to make the lower level Pokemon faint. The fourth Coordinator in the semi-finals, after quite a hard-fought battle, was Haruka. Her Roselia was at a type disadvantage, but proved itself when it came through with a dazzling Solar Beam and Petal Dance combination. Which would, Blanche noted, once again place her and Vaporeon at a disadvantage. It looked like no matter who she went up against first, the battle rounds would only start getting harder.  
***  
“And here we have the four Coordinators who have progressed into the second round of battling! Now, each of them will be paired randomly with another…” The pictures on the screen began shuffling with each other for a while, until they finally stopped.  
“So, the match-ups for the next round will be…” Lillian said, but neither Candela nor Blanche heard a word. Whichever software had been used to shuffle the positions around, it had made the unfortunate mistake of pairing the leaders of Team Valor and Mystic… in a battle.  
***  
Spark and Haruka’s battle was up first - Magneton against Roselia. An Electric and Steel-type Pokemon versus a Grass and Poison-type one. Since Magneton would be immune to all Poison-type moves, and Grass and Electric weren’t very effective against each other, it would be mainly up to the two battlers’ strategy to decide who would win.  
“Roselia, spotlight!” Haruka released her Pokemon first, and the diminutive Roselia stood near its Trainer as Spark tossed his Pokeball into the air.  
“Let’s rock, Magneton!” The Magnet Pokemon whizzed once around Spark’s head before settling down in front of him, static buzzing all over its body.   
“We’re now watching the first battle on the first stage, with Spark against Haruka! And with five minutes on the clock, your time starts… now!”  
“You get the first move, Haruka!” Spark shouted over the noise the crowd was making.  
“Petal Dance!” Haruka commanded, and a barrage of petals zoomed towards Magneton.   
“Beat them back with Magnet Bomb!” A ball of energy formed before Magneton, zooming into the Petal Dance and stopping most of the attack.  
“One more time, Roselia! Petal Dance!”   
“Magnet Bomb,” Spark said, waving his hand in the direction of Roselia. Again, Petal Dance failed to have much effect, but this time, Magnet Bomb landed right in front of the grass-type, throwing it off its feet with the impact. Both Haruka and Spark were losing points, Spark for not directly attacking, and Haruka for having her attacks do so little damage.  
“Come on, Roselia, you can do this,” Haruka encouraged the Pokemon to get back up. “Petal Dance one more time, but aim at the ceiling!”  
Spark’s eyes followed the trajectory of the petals as the ricocheted off the ceiling, the first few raining down on Magneton. They made direct hits, but weren’t much more powerful than before after being slowed down by the ceiling. “You can take this one, Magneton. Now use Lock-On!”  
“And we’re now at the three-minute mark of this battle… we don’t have a conclusive winner yet! Both sides are losing points almost equally! But stay with us, because they’re sure to have something up their sleeves…”  
“Petal Dance!” Haruka shouted one more time, knowing what would come next. “And make it count!”  
“Hold on, Magneton! Zap Cannon, full power!” Spark crossed his fingers behind his back, even though he knew that Zap Cannon would hit no matter what. It still hurt to see his Pokemon trying to shield itself from the petals, though.  
“Come on, Magneton, you can do it! Once Zap Cannon hits, it’s over, just a little more! I know you can do it!”   
Zap Cannon was spiraling around the petals, dodging every one with rapid precision, until it hit its target. Time was running out, and with only twenty seconds left, they both knew it was their last move. When the smoke from Zap Cannon cleared, it revealed an unconscious Roselia, and the decision was set.  
“The winner of this battle, who will be proceeding to the second stage… Spark!” Across the stage from him, Roselia slowly got back onto its feet, looking exhausted and crestfallen. Haruka knelt down beside it, gently patting the thorns on Roselia’s head in a way that wouldn't poison her. He watched them for a moment, remembering the days when Pikachu, as a Pichu, couldn't control its electricity, and if anyone touched its cheeks- Then suddenly, Spark found himself walking towards Haruka and Roselia.   
“Rose-lia?” The Grass-type looked up at the blonde man whom its Trainer admired, and who had just beaten it so quickly. But Spark smiled, and all its worries were put at ease.   
“Hello, little one,” he said gently. “You put up a good fight. Magneton isn't easy to beat. Don't take it so badly. Just imagine, if you and your Trainer work hard together, you could be stronger than us!”  
Roselia took the time to process his words, its face deep in thought. Finally, it brightened, and extended a flowered hand towards him.  
“Roselia wants you to shake hands,” Haruka laughed, when Spark looked confused. “It's always so formal, and yeah.”  
“I think it's cute,” Spark grinned, daintily holding the petals of the flower and moving it up and down, careful to take its small size into account. “It's really well trained. How long have you two been together?”  
“Well, I found it as a Budew, when I was just beginning my journey…” Haruka replied slowly. “I don't exactly remember when. Four years ago, perhaps. Maybe three. Oh, hey, look, we should go.”  
“Huh?” Spark looked confused again. “Go where?”  
Haruka carried Roselia and started to walk towards the exit, giggling. “The next battle’s going to start! We have to get off the stage!”  
“Oh! Right!” Spark dashed off after her. “I’ve really got to watch this one. Candela versus Blanche is going to be really epic.”  
***  
“And now, the second battle on the first stage, between two experienced Trainers! Give a hand to Candela and Blanche!” The two of them stood at opposite ends of the stage, facing the other head-on. Passionate, sporty Candela versus calm and analytic Blanche. This wasn't a battle to miss for sure. It was almost literally a clash of opposite powers - water against fire, strategy against brute force.  
“Charizard, let's make this a quick win!” Candela threw Charizard’s Pokeball right into the centre of the stage.  
“Vaporeon, come on out.” Blanche merely tapped her Pokeball, and Vaporeon materialised directly beside her. “We’ll win this time.”  
“It's a heated battle already, and the actual battling hasn't even begun! Keep your eyes glued, because this will be amazing. With five minutes on the clock, let’s get busy!”  
“We’ll take the first move. Water Pulse, Vaporeon.” The stage was flooded with water, but Charizard easily flew out of the way.   
“Do you really think you're going to catch use like that?” Candela asked with a mocking edge to her tone. “What happened to strategy? Fire Blast!”  
The powerful move was advancing towards Vaporeon, evaporating the Water Pulse and making it feel like a sauna in the Contest arena.   
“Wait, Vaporeon. Not yet.” Vaporeon was squinting because of the flames’ brightness, but obeyed without question. The heat was becoming unbearable, and Blanche’s face felt like it was burning up. The attack had almost reached Vaporeon.  
“Now!” and the water-type jumped out of the way, the only sign of its whereabouts being the white streak that had shot up towards the ceiling. The last-minute, perfectly executed dodge had deducted some points from Candela’s score.  
“Now’s our chance! Dragon Breath!” Candela shouted.  
Blanche smiled. “Not so fast. Ice Beam.”  
“Ice Beam won't do much against Charizard…” Candela said, caught by surprise.  
“Did I say Ice Beam was meant for Charizard?” Blanche asked mildly, while Vaporeon propelled itself away from Dragon Breath with the attack. Jagged spikes of ice formed at the spot where Vaporeon’s attack had struck. Candela’s points went down a little more with every Ice Beam dodge Vaporeon did, but she wasn't even looking at the screen anymore, and completely disregarded the fact that it was a Contest Battle.   
After a few more unsuccessful Dragon Breaths, Candela had had enough. “Start charging Solar Beam,” she ordered. “Brace yourself for an attack.”  
“Ice Beam again, Vaporeon,” Blanche said, but the attack never hit Charizard. Instead, Vaporeon sent its Ice Beam throughout the arena, covering both the floor and ceiling with jagged spikes of ice.   
“Now let them have it!” Candela shouted, pointing to Vaporeon, who remained in its position on the ground. Solar Beam barreled through the ice, shattering every icicle upon contact. But Vaporeon didn't even move. It just stood there, waiting for Solar Beam to hit. And it did. Candela stared at her opponent, who watched the spot where Vaporeon had been, expression unreadable.   
When the light cleared, Vaporeon had collapsed onto the stage, its body small, fragile and unmoving.


	18. The Dripping Timer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter what, a battle is a battle. And no matter what, it hurts to lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an abnormally short one. because I wanted what happens next to have its own chapter. Also, I visualised the entire thing in my head, but since my brain isn't entirely reliable this might not follow some law that dictates only one move per turn. As far as I know, though, this doesn't really apply in a Contest battle. This might not follow (any) laws of physics/biology/chemistry either, so forgive me. Also, no, I don't know what these laws are. I know people who do, though. Also, this chapter is particularly like the anime, which means that fainted Pokemon can revive themselves through sheer determination.

“Well, it looks like Vaporeon’s out! I wonder what Blanche had up her sleeve, but it doesn’t seem to be working…” 

“Wait.” Vaporeon was stirring, getting back up. Although its body was covered in injuries, its indigo eyes met Charizard’s blue ones without flinching. 

“What an amazing Pokemon! Even after taking a bad hit from Charizard’s Solar Beam, Vaporeon’s back on its feet. Let’s see what the pair had in mind, as the battle continues!”

“Charizard, let’s go! Charge up another Solar Beam!” Candela knew she was giving Blanche an opening to attack, but she couldn’t figure out how much health Vaporeon had left, and until then it might be risky to try a less powerful move.

“Ice Beam on the ceiling, then Water Pulse,” Blanche commanded. The spikes of ice grew on the ceiling again, curving down slightly at the edges. When Vaporeon’s Water Pulse, hit the centre of the ceiling, the water slid smoothly down the ice, causing it to rain on the stage. Charizard roared in pain as the water dripped onto its body and tail, losing focus and stopping its Solar Beam.

“Charizard, stay strong! Try it again!” Candela encouraged, even though she was losing some faith. Charizard might be a strong Pokemon, but the one weakness it never seemed to have overcome was its weakness to water. The ball of energy began forming again in Charizard’s mouth, as it used its wings to keep some parts of its body dry.

“Water Pulse, then Ice Beam.” This time, Vaporeon aimed Water Pulse at the ground instead of at the ceiling. Candela called for Charizard to brace itself, but Ice Beam stopped Water Pulse from touching Charizard. What happened next was almost as bad, as the spikes of ice poked at Charizard’s skin and it had no choice but to fly. The water that had previously been kept away by its wings poured onto the fire-type now, and it was struggling to maintain its focus.

“Okay, good, Charizard! Now launch Solar Beam!”

“Quick Attack on Charizard!” Vaporeon leapt lightly onto one of Charizard’s wings, and Charizard turned around to hit it with Solar Beam.

“Charizard, no! Wait!” Candela shouted, but Charizard was too confused to hear her. 

“Quick Attack,” Blanche commanded, and Vaporeon leapt off Charizard’s wing to land gracefully on the tallest spike of ice, balancing on two legs as Charizard hit itself with Solar Beam. 

“Charizard!” But it was too late, Charizard’s wing had been injured badly and although it had not fainted, it was falling towards the ground… 

“Surf,” Blanche said, and a wall of water grew, rushing towards Charizard with Vaporeon proudly standing on top.

“Flamethrower!” Charizard struggled to get up and attack, but the flames did evaporate some of the water, and barely, just barely, Charizard made it.

It stood up now, holding its injured wing carefully to face Vaporeon. Candela’s points were deducted, but since Blanche’s were lower than hers after Vaporeon got hit, they were now neck and neck. 

“The two battlers have exactly the same number of points! And with less than one minute left, this is going to be each side’s last move. The one who will win this… well, we’ll just have to wait and see! I can guarantee you one thing, though - a most exciting battle!”

“Vaporeon, take this.” Blanche slipped a necklace onto Vaporeon, the teardrop-shaped charm that was filled with water glistening on its neck.

“Fire Blast!” Candela shouted, and Charizard’s flames erupted from its mouth.

“Surf, Vaporeon,” Blanche commanded. “One last time.”

The wall of water was much taller and stronger than the previous one, rushing towards Fire Blast with a vengeance. The two attacks collided, and Surf evaporated as Fire Blast fizzled out. The clock was still ticking - or was that the steady drip of water from the melting ice overhead? Ten - drip. Nine - drip. Eight - drip. It was then that Candela realised that this was what Blanche had wanted after all. Charizard was slowly weakening as the water fell on it, but with its injured wing, and the effort of launching another powerful attack, it couldn’t move away. Five - drip. Four - drip Three - drip. Candela could see her points slowly decreasing, but there was nothing she could do. It would be cruel to ask Charizard to attack one more time, with the damage it had already taken. At least the water was only falling in small amounts.

And then it was over. Right after the timer went down to zero, Charizard fell onto the stage, unmoving. Only then did Candela realise it had been standing so that she might have a chance to win. It hit her hard, and for a while, the whole world went silent.  _ Charizard remained standing for me. _ The realisation was followed by another.  _ But I let it down.  _ Hands shaking, she returned Charizard to its Pokeball. It had been an extremely long time since Charizard had lost a battle. In fact, the only battle Charizard had lost was against the Cerulean Gym, when it was still a Charmander. Even in Hoenn’s Sootopolis Gym, it had knocked out one of the Gym Leader’s Pokemon with Solar Beam.

“Candela.” Blanche had maneuvered her way across the ice-covered stage, Vaporeon in her arms. She had a Hyper Potion in her hands, and was spraying the pink liquid onto Vaporeon’s wounds. “We have to go.” Still stunned, Candela returned Charizard to its Pokeball.

Without warning, a flame grew in her hand, and her eyes flashed red. She clenched her hand into a fist to quash the flame, her shock slowly turning into anger. 

“I’ll go by myself, thank you,” she muttered, and walked off the stage, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. Blanche followed, silent other than the sound of the Hyper Potion spray. The teardrop-shaped necklace glittered as it crinkled slightly with her movement towards the Pokemon Centre. The final battle would only take place in about half an hour, to give the Pokemon some time to rest, and in the meantime, she had some things to settle.


	19. Melting Flames

 The Pokemon Centre seemed to be at its busiest, bustling with not only Coordinators and their Pokemon, but also friends and relatives who had come as spectators. There was even a queue in front of Nurse Joy’s counter, which had been unheard of previously due to her and her Chansey’s superb efficiency. So when the sliding door to the Pokemon Centre opened, Blanche was overwhelmed, watching the crowd in a half-frozen stance at the door. Vaporeon was wiggling in her arms, and she realised how cold her hands were.  
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, quickly placing the Pokemon on the ground beside her. It looked alert and quite energetic - the Hyper Potion must be taking effect.   
“Leader Blanche!” A high-pitched voice startled her, and she turned around to face a little girl and a few of her friends, all of whom were dressed in blue. The girl released a Venonat from its Pokeball, and the fluffy bug-type rubbed affectionately against her leg.   
“Can you help me with Venonat? I think it might be able to evolve soon, but I don’t know what to do if it does,” she continued.  
Blanche crouched down to look at the Pokemon, still uncomfortably aware of how much attention the little girl’s squeals had garnered. Many people in the Centre were twisting around to watch, and some were even walking nearer to get a closer look. Through all the chaos, Blanche thought she spotted a familiar white jacket near Nurse Joy’s counter, but her view was blocked by another person before she could check.  
“Veno! Nat!” Venonat cautiously rubbed its feelers onto Blanche’s hand as she extended it to the Pokemon. Deciding she could be trusted despite the low temperatures, it allowed her to kneel beside it and stroke its purple fur. Its red compound eyes were bright, and it seemed very healthy. Its fur was soft, and its delicate paws showed no signs of cuts or bruises. Blanche picked Venonat up and handed it back to the little girl.  
“You’ve taken care of it very well,” she said, and the girl beamed at her praise. “It will evolve soon. When it does, do not panic. Just let nature run its course, and once the evolution is complete, record it in your Pokedex. The Pokedex will tell you more about your new Pokemon, as well as its moveset.”  
“Okay, I will! Thank you so much!” The girl and her friends ran off, Venonat still in her arms. Blanche headed over to the counter to give Vaporeon and Blastoise’s Pokeballs to Nurse Joy, before sitting down on a nearby sofa.  
“Candela.” She looked at the Valor leader who was seated on the other end of said couch.   
Candela looked up. “Oh. It's you.” She returned her gaze back to her phone.   
It took Blanche a few moments to understand why Candela was so cold. “You're upset because you lost.”  
“No,” Candela didn't look up. Her hand that was not holding her phone clenched into a fist.  
“I'm upset… because I lost to you.”  
Blanche froze on the spot. “So,” she said slowly and carefully, “why is losing to me in particular such a… trial for you?”   
“It's not just me. Charizard… we've won so many battles in so many regions, against everyone. And now… losing to a weaker Pokemon?”  
“Vaporeon is not weak.” Blanche narrowed her eyes at Candela, who shrugged.  
“I've seen enough Vaporeons to tell, Blanche. It's not that weak, but not particularly strong either.”  
“Do you know, then, why a Pokemon that you label as being weaker than one of your own was able to win?” Blanche had trapped Candela in a corner now.   
“Yeah,” Candela replied, more aggressively than she thought. “Because I wasn't good enough.”  
“No.” Blanche had no idea what had made her try to reassure Candela, but she knew it was the right thing to do without thinking about it. As Spark would say, it was perhaps an instinct. “You're not a failure just because you lost. This isn't an ordinary battle, like you're used to. This is a Contest battle. Your first Contest battle. You couldn't have expected to win.”  
“Contest or League, it's still a battle,” Candela insisted. “If it's a battle, I've got to win it.”  
“You've only been battling one kind of opponent. Contest battles are very different from League battles. For one thing, the Pokemon you'll face are vastly different.”  
Blanche had gotten Candela’s interest now. “What do you mean?”  
“Don’t you wonder why Vaporeon was able to dodge all of Charizard’s attacks? And don't you think it's strange that I would allow it to be hit by Solar Beam?” Blanche smiled, but the smile was truly terrifying. It looked evil, mysterious, and maybe even a little sad, all at the same time.  
“Woah, don't do that,” Candela said in alarm. “You're creeping me out.” Blanche's smile didn't fade until the announcement for all spectators and participants to return to the Contest arena. She got up abruptly, collected Vaporeon’s and Blastoise’s Pokeballs from Nurse Joy before leaving for the Contest arena.  
“She's a nice one,” Candela said bemusedly, shaking her head as she watched Blanche leave. For some strange reason, she was no longer angry.  
“Aww, Candy,” another familiar voice came from behind her. “Aren't you coming to cheer me on?”  
“Don't call me Candy!” She said irritably to Spark. “And yes, I'm coming, but no promises on the cheering part.”  
“You're cheering for Blanche?” Spark’s eyes widened. “That's so sweet of you. I saw you two just now. It was so cute!” He winked at Candela, who flushed.  
“Oh, shut up, you,” she stood up from her place on the sofa, starting to walk past Spark, who didn't move from his spot.  
“Candela?” He asked strangely. “Did you put your hand there?” He pointed to the arm of the sofa.  
“Er… yeah, why?”   
“Look closer.” Candela bent down a little to look at the fabric. To her horror, there was one spot that was slightly charred, and near that spot was a mark that looked suspiciously like blood.   
Candela’s hand moved unconsciously to her right forearm. The sleeve of her white jacket felt wet and sticky, and when she removed her hand, it was stained red.  
“Candela…” Spark looked as troubled as she felt. “Is that… blood?”


	20. Lockdown!

“We’re still waiting for Spark to arrive here… what could have kept him? If he doesn’t get here soon, it’ll be treated as a forfeit for the judges, and the ribbon will automatically be awarded to… look! Here he is!” Lillian turned to look at the blond young man dashing onto the stage, his blue eyes panicked. He heaved a sigh when he reached his place opposite Blanche.  
“Sorry, guys,” he said apologetically, but made no further explanation.  
“The final round of the Harmony Contest is about to begin! Each Coordinator has five minutes to battle with the other, and at the end, or when one Pokemon faints, the remaining Coordinator will be declared the winner, receiving the coveted Ribbon I have in my hands. Now let’s…”  
“GET BUSY!” The crowd chanted Lillian’s signature phrase along with her. They were clearly all psyched to watch the battle, and they weren’t wrong. Blanche may have had the advantage over Spark in terms of experience, but he definitely had the type advantage, not to mention his unpredictability. Whatever this would turn out to be, easy wasn’t one of them.  
“Vaporeon, once more. Take the stage!” Vaporeon curled around Blanche’s legs once, before sitting in a resting position right in front of her, the teardrop-shaped necklace still glittering around its neck.  
“Magneton, I choose you!” Spark spun Magneton’s Pokeball on his finger before letting it drop from his hands, releasing Magneton into the air.  
“We’ll start with Tri-Attack!” he called cheerfully, and a glowing triangle of energy formed between Magneton’s three magnets. The triangle zoomed towards Vaporeon at a dangerously fast pace.  
“Counter it with Water Pulse,” Blanche quickly said, and the blue pulse collided with Tri-Attack just in time to stop it from hitting Vaporeon. The edges of the triangle began glowing different colours, with the blue side becoming brighter than the other two, until each one exploded in a shower of light.  
“Don’t get distracted, Magneton! Lock-on!” The small red target appeared on Vaporeon’s forehead, and it stood up, blinking in confusion. The next attack Magneton sent their way would be Zap Cannon, Blanche was sure of it. A super-effective move against the Water-type Vaporeon, not to mention its power.  
“Surf, Vaporeon,” she told Vaporeon, thinking of something. “As high as you can.” The top of Vaporeon’s body was almost touching the ceiling of the arena, and the water from Surf was spilling off the sides of the stage.   
“Magneton, you go high up, too! The most dab-worthy Zap Cannon in the history of Zap Cannons, coming up!”  
“Dive into Surf with a spinning Water Pulse, then Ice Beam,” Blanche commanded, and Vaporeon leapt into the crashing waves with ease and grace. The water curved around its slender body as it spun around, the pulse of water forming at its mouth rapidly gaining energy. Vaporeon shot the pulse at Magneton, who had been caught unawares and couldn’t dodge in time. When Magneton turned around, Vaporeon was frozen in a block of ice.  
“Once again, it seems like Blanche’s strategy has backfired on her. But will Vaporeon pull through this one?” Lillian mused, leaving the crowd in anticipation and higher (if it was possible to go any higher) spirits.   
“Well, looks like Vaporeon’s just frozen itself! I'll move, then. Zap Cannon, let's go!” Spark told his Pokemon.   
Then slowly, Vaporeon’s body disappeared.  
“Vaporeon’s body may be frozen, but its brain isn't,” Blanche said.  
“Brilliant usage of Vaporeon’s ability to disappear in water! But with Magneton’s Lock-On, Zap Cannon can't miss…” Lillian observed. True enough, the small red target that Magneton had placed on Vaporeon was still visible under the ice.  
“We’ll see,” Blanche whispered under her breath. “Charge up Water Pulse, Vaporeon,” she continued.  
“What in the world could Water Pulse do in there?” Spark wondered aloud.   
The multi-coloured ball of pulsing energy shot towards Vaporeon’s icy prison, hovering around it for a while. Because Vaporeon had frozen itself in the ice, it couldn't get through, and it tried hitting the ice hard instead. Hairline cracks appeared in the ice, near the red target. Then, after a few more hits, the ice cracked, with shards flying everywhere. Spark shielded his eyes with his arm, and Magneton curled up to protect itself. The shards flew through Zap Cannon, charging up with a little electricity each time and peppering Magneton with their sharp edges.   
“Now!” Blanche commanded, looking in total control of the situation, as usual. The ice had given her arms a few scratches, but she didn't even flinch. Right as the barrage of ice ceased, Zap Cannon struck Vaporeon as Water Pulse hit Magneton. The bars with both their points displayed on screen were both getting shorter, with Blanche’s points having taken the worse hit.  
“Both sides have approximately one minute and thirty seconds left!” Lillian announced. “Soon, the winner of this Contest will be decided!”  
Vaporeon and Magneton resumed their previous positions, both looking slightly worn out. To Spark’s surprise, Zap Cannon had not knocked Vaporeon out, although it should have.   
Precious time was ticking away. “Tri-Attack!” Spark called, but like before, Vaporeon was able to counter it quickly with Water Pulse. The points on Spark’s bar depleted a little more, and he was now neck and neck with Blanche.   
“Try another Zap Cannon!” He shouted, and Magneton twisted around to stare at him. “Trust me, it’ll be okay,” he continued. Zap Cannon was powerful, but its low accuracy made it rather unreliable without Lock-On.   
“Surf, Vaporeon,” Blanche said. The two Pokemon’s most powerful moves, up against each other. Time was still slowly ticking away. This would be their last turn.   
Zap Cannon collided with Surf, sending waves of electricity to Vaporeon who was standing on top. The blue Pokemon winced in pain, but the charged Surf, travelling faster than it usually would, crashed headlong into Magneton.  
When the smoke from the collision cleared, both Magneton and Vaporeon were unconscious.   
“And… it's over! Both Pokemon are unable to battle! Now, let's take a look at the points for each Coordinator…”  
“You were great, buddy,” Spark said as he carried Magneton in his arms, the rubber gloves he always wore protecting him from its static electricity.   
“Thank you, Vaporeon.” On the other end of the stage, Blanche had knelt down beside her Pokemon, who climbed wearily onto her lap.   
Both of them turned to look at the scoreboard with a certain degree of apprehension. Lillian was still talking. “And we have a winner! Leading by a tiny fraction… Blanche and Vaporeon!” She announced, and Blanche's eyes widened in surprise. Spark grinned, though he was disappointed.   
“You guys were awesome. You deserve it,” he said warmly, feeling happy for Blanche despite the fact that he lost.  
“Wow! What a display of sportsmanship!” Lillian cheered, and the crowd gave a huge round of applause.  
***  
“Well, Leader Blanche, it’s my pleasure to award you with the Harmony Ribbon,” Mr. Contesta said, opening the case containing the beautiful ribbon.   
To everyone’s surprise, Blanche didn't take it. “I'm sorry, but I can't accept. Keep the ribbon for another Coordinator. There were so many deserving ones in this Contest alone. Although it is true that I myself am a Coordinator, my days of participating in Grand Festivals are behind me now, while they still have all of theirs in front of them. I cannot deny them the chance of being in the Grand Festival.”  
“Aww, come on, Blanche!” Spark said. “You won it!”  
“Please accept it, Leader Blanche.” It was Rue. She looked around at all the other Coordinators, continuing, “None of us would ever accept a ribbon that we didn't win on our own merits, even if it places us one step closer to the Grand Festival.”  
Blanche turned to look at her for a moment, this small girl with already her level of skill and wisdom. Rue held her gaze for a few seconds, then flushed red and looked down, as though she thought she's offended Blanche.  
“No,” Blanche said quietly. “Don't look away. You're right.” Rue looked up in surprise. Blanche nodded to her, before turning back to Mr. Contesta. “It's my honour to accept this ribbon,” she said as she gently removed the ribbon from the box that Mr. Contesta held out. She held it out towards the audience, her heart beating with both excitement and nostalgia.   
It all happened so suddenly, that there was no time to comprehend it, even for Blanche. Without warning, the pale mark that wrapped around her left upper hand flashed blue. The next moment, the ribbon had frozen in her hand. Instinctively, she clenched the hand holding the ribbon into a fist, pulling it close to her chest. The audience didn't seem to notice much, if they noticed anything at all. But Blanche could feel Spark’s eyes on her. She was the first to leave the arena when the Contest was officially over.


	21. A Myriad of Colours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> full credits to whoever made the "addictionary" joke, it wasn't me obviously

The teardrop-shaped plate of the ribbon reflected the harsh light of the dressing room lights, glowing white in Blanche's hand as she set it down on the table. It was soaking wet from the melting ice, and the two ribbons at the two sides of the plate hung limp from all the water. She set it down on one of the tables with a loud ‘clunk’, sitting on top of the table beside it. Vaporeon clambered into her lap, and she stroked its smooth body absent-mindedly.

“Don't you sometimes wonder,” she asked aloud, “how different we would be without Articuno?”

Vaporeon stared downwards, away from its Trainer. “Vapor,” it replied demurely. “Vapor-eon.”

Blanche sighed softly. “I know it's an honour to have been chosen. But…” the fingers on her right hand traced the faint marks on her left upper arm, “...I never asked for something like this to happen. Especially… right after we'd won another Contest. It's been so long since our last Grand Festival, you and Blastoise must be exhausted after all that training we did.”

She unclipped Blastoise’s Pokeball from her belt, staring at it for a while before hugging it close with one hand and gathering Vaporeon towards her with the other. “You two were my first Pokemon…” She'd gotten Eevee’s egg before she collected Squirtle from Professor Oak’s lab, but Eevee had only hatched later on. So, in a way, they were both her first Pokemon.

“I'm so sorry,” Blanche whispered, her face buried in Vaporeon’s side. The smell of rain as well as the strawberry scent of Hyper Potions filled her nose. “You should be resting in Harmony Centre now, not here like this… But I can't bring myself to walk outside. If the word got out… what if they tried to take us away again?”

***

Spark found Candela in the Pokemon Centre, hands on her hips as the highlights of the Contest were replayed on the Pokemon Centre TV. She was watching a clip from the Performance Round when Spark placed a hand on her shoulder, having come up from behind her. She whirled around in surprise, drawing back her right hand in a fist.

“Hey, relax, hotshot, it’s just me!” Spark said, slightly alarmed by her violent reaction. She relaxed, letting her hand drop, but wincing a little.

“You scared me,” she said, an edge of irritation in her voice. “I thought you might have been… well, never mind that now. Where's Blanche? I thought she'd be with you.”

“She left earlier than me,” Spark replied, shrugging but looking troubled now. “I don't know where she might be. You did see what happened, didn't you?”

“Not much, they cut to the audience for a bit,” Candela said, raising an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“Articuno,” he replied soberly. “The whole ribbon just froze in her hand. I think she got quite a shock.”

“Well, maybe she's back at Harmony Centre? It's been a while,” Candela suggested hopefully. “We should probably head back too.”

“Okay, sure!” Spark agreed, trademark huge grin back on his face. “Let's go!”

“Hey, wait for me!” Candela caught up with Spark outside the Pokemon Centre, still thinking. “You were in the Grand Festival once, weren't you?”

“Yeah! It was great!” He replied exuberantly.

“So… d’you know what Blanche means when she says that the Pokemon in Contests and Leagues are different? Is it something to do with their training?”

“You're all about training, aren't you,” Spark teased. “Actually to be honest, I have no idea. Blanche's Pokemon seemed to be more speedy than other water-types I've seen, though.”

“Vaporeon withstood Solar Beam,” Candela countered. “Speed couldn't have done that. If it hadn't been a super-effective attack, maybe it had a chance. But not against Solar Beam… definitely not.”

“Well, I'm not Blanche,” he replied, letting a Pichu weave around his legs. “I don't really train my team specifically for Contests or Leagues. Adaptability is more important.”

“Yes, but don't you still need training that fits what you're going to participate in?” Candela asked.

Spark shrugged. “I'm probably the wrong dude to ask if you want to know about that. I mean, we train and all, but mostly we just go with our instincts. Oh, hey there, Haruka!”

The dark-haired girl looked towards them, brushing hair out of her face. “Hello, Leaders Spark and Candela,” she greeted respectfully. The Roselia standing beside her bobbed its head and smiled. “Have you seen a Pichu anywhere here?” She asked. “Roselia and I are looking for it.”

“Wait, you mean the Pichu that was here just a while ago? That's _your_ Pichu? It's really fast,” Spark said. “Honestly, I wouldn't know where it is now…”

“Zapdos might,” Candela whispered. “Actually, we can help you look, Haruka,” she continued, in her normal tones. “Where does Pichu like to go?”

“Oh, everywhere,” Haruka said exasperatedly. “It just likes to run - and have me chase it!”

Candela grinned. “Let's see who can outspeed the cheeky little thing. Come on out!” Her Arcanine materialised from its Pokeball, drawing stares from the passers-by. It roared, tilting its head towards the sky, striking a majestic and imposing figure. It turned around, nuzzling Candela, suddenly becoming the playful puppy that it had been as a Growlithe.

***

“Well, what do you think?” Blanche asked Vaporeon, as they watched a replay of the Contest. Candela and Spark were visible, ahead of them. On screen, Vaporeon and Blastoise manoeuvred themselves into their ending pose. Vaporeon’s tail swished against Blanche's cheek as it watched, in time with the rhythm of the combination.

“You two were both great, seeing as neither of you've done much practice for quite a while,” Blanche said. “But this movement here is a little jerky, look…” she rewound the replay by a few seconds. “We should discuss this with Blastoise later, back at Harmony Centre.”

“Pichu pichu pichu! Pi - pichu!” A small Pokemon was hurtling towards them, a wide grin on its face. It has big yellow ears tipped with black, and a small yellow body with a black collar. Its pink cheeks sparked with some static. Just then, a girl ran up to Candela and Spark, talking about something.

“Ice Beam at the ground. I think that Pichu is hers,” Blanche told Vaporeon, referring to the Trainer. The little Pichu slipped on the ice, and Vaporeon scooped it up with its tail. Blanche picked up the Pichu.

“I think I'll take it from here, Vaporeon. Thank you.” Vaporeon leapt back to its spot across her shoulders, making contented noises. Ahead of them, Candela’s Arcanine materialised, roaring towards the burning sun. It then turned and nuzzled Candela, who laughed, patted it and told it to do something. The Growlithe line was well-known for their keen sense of smell, so it could be assumed that Arcanine was supposed to look for Pichu.

“There won't be any need for this,” she said, as she drew nearer. Pichu, spotting the girl, was fighting to get out of her arms.

***

“Pichu!” Haruka cried, and Blanche let go of Pichu, allowing it to leap into Haruka’s arms. She was wearing her usual coat over her Contest costume, the mark on her arm covered.

“Thank you so much for returning Pichu!” Haruka said gratefully. “Pichu, you naughty thing, I was so worried!”

“You're Haruka,” Blanche stated. It wasn't a question. “I was watching you in the Contest. You did well, and your Pokemon are definitely well-raised. Including Pichu. It has excellent speed stats, and high friendship for such a young Pokemon.”

“Wow,” Haruka looked slightly overwhelmed, but accepted it as a compliment anyway. “Thank you, but Pichu isn't that young. It's holding an Everstone.”

“How did you find Pichu?” Spark asked. “It was going so fast just now. Bet it could outspeed this lazy potato here,” he joked, poking his Pikachu, who was snoozing on his shoulder. Haruka and Candela laughed. Blanche didn't.

“Ice Beam,” she replied, looking towards a patch of ice in the centre of the pavement.

“It hasn't melted yet,” Candela observed. Ice Beam must have been quite strong to be holding up under the sunlight. “Hey Arcanine, think you can manage a Flamethrower right there?” Arcanine roared in response, its flames landing precisely on target.

“Your Arcanine really is something else,” Blanche said, watching the flames. Candela blinked in surprise. It wasn't like Blanche, to praise her Pokemon.

“Thank you,” she replied, smiling. “We've done a lot of training together.” She didn't know what else to say, and once she'd returned Arcanine to its Pokeball, an awkward silence ensued between them.

“Oh, yeah,” Haruka piped up, breaking the silence, “My friends and I are going for lunch soon. Would you like to join us?”

Spark jumped onboard the idea immediately and enthusiastically, as did Candela. Blanche demurred for a while, saying something about needing to complete some research or other.

“Come on! It'll be fun,” Candela encouraged. “Besides, it won't take too long, then you can go back to doing whatever you were going to do.” Finally, Blanche conceded, and the three of them followed Haruka towards a quaint restaurant at the end of town.

There was a group of Trainers there, some of them just starting out, and only reaching up to the chests or shoulders of the older, more experienced Trainers. They were all chatting noisily, wearing their proud shades of red, blue and yellow and for some, their partner Pokemon in their hands.

“Hey guys!” Haruka called as they drew closer. “Guess who’s joining us!”

“Pichu pichu!” Pichu squeaked excitedly, and Haruka’s Roselia waved at the group of Trainers.

Candela couldn't help noticing that Blanche had slowed her steps at the sight of the lively group, and she slowed down to match Blanche's pace. Spark lagged behind a little too as Haruka ran ahead with Roselia trailing behind at a more leisurely pace.

“Come on,” Candela said. “It'll be all right.” She didn't know why Blanche had slowed down, but she wanted to help, anyway.

“They're all okay,” Spark continued, referring to the group of Trainers. “No need to worry!” He knew why Blanche had slowed down, and seeing how Candela was trying to help, he thought she might need some help herself.

“You know,” Blanche murmured as they walked towards the restaurant together, “sometimes I wonder how different you'd all be without Moltres and Zapdos. But maybe… I don't want this to change, either.”

***

Miracles happened, and Blanche found herself sitting in between Rue and an older girl with blue-green hair. Across the table, Spark was telling jokes to a couple of kids beside him as well as egg facts to an older Trainer sitting nearer to Blanche. Candela was a few seats away, talking about the Johto League with Haruka and another boy around the same age. Without anything else to do, Blanche took out her laptop and began analysing the stats of a Rhyhorn.

“Are those the appraisals?” The girl with blue-green hair asked, leaning over to see. “Oh, I'm Annie, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Annie…” Blanche remembered seeing her name a few times in the records. “You defeated a Gym just yesterday. And you're using Lab Three to study stone-based evolution.”

“Wow, how did you know? You're right!” Annie read the list of stats, and looked at the computer-generated 3-D diagram of the Rhyhorn. “This one’s a little on the big side, huh? A good attacker, but slow. It won't make a good tank, though, not with defenses like that, so it probably needs either speed or defensive training.”

She looked up at Blanche, who was watching her closely.

“Oh… sorry,” she said, “that was your job, right?”

“No,” Blanche replied, “that was a very comprehensive appraisal. You would do well in that area.”

“Thanks,” Annie beamed.

Spark had progressed from telling jokes to making puns, and even Candela, Haruka and the boy were listening. Beside Blanche, little Rue seemed to have made a friend in Lia, and they were both taking apart an incubator to see how it worked.

“Oh yeah,” Spark was saying, “what d’you call a dictionary on drugs?”

“If you say ‘addictionary’ I swear I will kill you, Spark,” Candela leaned over, grinning. To everyone’s surprise, Spark burst into peals of laughter.

“ _Addictionary_ … I was gonna say ‘high definition’, but y’know what? Yours is better, so I think I'll go with that,” he said through his laughing. Candela shook her head.

“You're impossible,” she said, shaking her head as the ridiculous amount of food they'd ordered was served.

“Mmmffffhhhhnnngg,” Spark mumbled incoherently with a mouth full of noodles.

“Excuse me?” Blanche’s face displayed both confusion and mild disgust.

“I've got one for you too, Blanche,” he said, after swallowing his food. “Why did the specimen cross the microscope? To get to the other slide!"

“Specimens don't move from their positions,” Blanche began to say, when the girl beside her, Annie, began laughing.

“The other _slide_ ,” she choked in mirth, giggling loudly. “That was an awesome pun!”*

_*Author’s note: this is related to how a light microscope works… now let’s just pretend that it didn’t suck and move on… in fact let us assume that it was the best joke ever. I'm sorry, still trying to understand how exactly a pun functions._

“It _was_?” Spark said, delighted. “Hey, wanna hear some more?”

They spent the rest of the meal exchanging puns, jokes, pick-up lines, and more, to Blanche’s horror and Candela’s amusement. Finally, their very interesting conversation was interrupted by a yell from the other end of the table.

“Hey, Valor’s got the gym!” Lia, after glancing at the update, cheered. The others stopped talking, staring at her. The eight gyms of the League were quite prestigious, but none of them were close by…

“No, not the League Gyms,” Lia grinned, clarifying. “The GO Program gyms!” It turned out that the gym in question was situated quite close to where they were, just on the edge of town. It was a heavily contested gym, changing hands every other day. Currently, though, with nine Trainers and their Pokemon defending the gym, it was a Valor stronghold. The battle animations on Lia’s phone screen showed that the gym was being contested, but whoever was battling didn’t seem to be having much luck. The gym’s strongest Pokemon, a Steelix, was proudly displayed over the gym icon, grinning out of Lia’s phone screen.

“We should go and contest it,” Rue piped up, speaking to the Mystic and Instinct members seated around the table. Everyone stood up at once, the Valor members aiming to defend their position and the other two teams, to take it down. The chattering group of Trainers began to make their way out of the eatery, Candela and Spark following. They knew about the gyms, but had yet to see a battle there in action, much to Candela’s chagrin. She had insisted to go, and Spark followed out of curiosity. Blanche, however, stayed behind, packing her laptop into a slim case.

“Aren’t you coming, too?” Spark asked.

“No,” was the short reply. “It’s getting late and I need to catch up on work… besides, all gym battle replays can be accessed through the database.”

“Er… okay,” he said, blinking.

“We’ll see you later, then?” Candela asked. She might as well have been talking to a wall, for the nonexistent reply she got.

Leaving Blanche and Vaporeon, who were headed for Harmony Centre, Candela and Spark caught up to the colourful procession of Trainers going the other way, following the path towards the gym.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I sincerely apologise for the bad pun.  
> Also, I'm sorry this hasn't been updated for such a long time... I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. Thanks to everyone who stuck with this amazingly weird fanfiction for 20 whole chapters :)


	22. Lake of Rage

The glow of the laptop screen showed that Blanche was typing out an appraisal for a Vileplume. On another window, dots were overlaid onto a map, and by plotting the coordinates of the Vileplume’s caught location, Blanche could track the spawn areas of each Pokemon. Usually, grass Pokemon like Vileplume lived in large groups of its own evolutionary line, so she wasn’t surprised to see that the catches of Vileplume, Gloom and Oddish were all made in a few different spots. What was surprising, though, was that over time, these little colonies of Vileplume and its evolutions were moving closer and closer to the lake. It was strange, and a little worrying. Oddish needed the rich nutrients of forest or grassland soil in order to grow healthily, and the poison from Vileplume and Gloom could harm the water Pokemon. This arrangement would hardly benefit either type of Pokemon, and surely enough, when she checked the spawn rates of common water-types like Magikarp, they were slowly going down. Pokemon all had their own locations where they could thrive, and for the grass- and water-types,  _ together _ was not one of them.

The PokeNav resting on the desk beside her began to ring, the insistent sound impossible to ignore. She had set this particular PokeNav to only ring like this when the incoming call was an emergency, so with a certain degree of reluctance, she lifted up the cover and answered the call.

“Leader Blanche?” A slightly hesitant voice was on the other end, undoubtedly belonging to the boy named Marcus. This particular Trainer was usually rather obnoxious, reserving his signature smirk for another member of Team Valor, and she had yet to hear him sound shaken or scared.

“It’s just Blanche, Marcus,” she quickly replied, curiosity intensifying. “What happened?”

“There’s a Gyarados in the lake,” he responded after a pause. “It’s thrashing about and injuring a few of the other Pokemon. We can’t get through the water to it, because the entire lake is churning, and none of the attacks that do reach it are doing any good. We haven’t tried any electric attacks because the other Pokemon would get hurt too.”

“Are there… any defining characteristics about the Gyarados?” Blanche asked. 

There was silence on the other end for a while. “Yes,” Marcus said, after the pause. “It seems to be wearing something… like a necklace. And it’s an unusual shade of blue - lighter than normal, I think.”

Blanche’s mind was made up. “I’ll be there,” she replied. “Withdraw all your Pokemon, and try to get as many of the wild water-types out of the lake as possible.”

“Understood,” Marcus replied immediately. The line went silent.

Blanche clipped all her Pokeballs back onto her belt, taking a bag containing medical supplies with her. At the door of her room, she stopped for a while, considering… then turned back in. She found the book she had been looking for, and placed it on her desk together with a note.

_ Received emergency call at 13:02.  _

_ Do not worry. _

Her pen hovered over the tiny slip of paper for a moment, before she continued.

_ But do hurry. _

The lake was a short walk from Harmony Centre, in the opposite direction of the Contest arena. It was a huge pool of sparkling, crystalline water, opening out into the sea. The area around it was more sandy than other parts of the area, so much so that some Trainers called it ‘the beach’. She had never been there before. It had seemed like a waste of time, but now? Now, it seemed more like an opportunity, and she quickened her pace as she neared the lake.

She was greeted with total chaos, as wild Pokemon huddled in frightened heaps among the Trainers who were either trying to comfort them or heal their own Pokemon, all the while producing an amazing amount of noise, that only Marcus, who had been throwing glances towards the path leading from Harmony Centre to the lake, had spotted her.

“Leader Blanche - Blanche,” he corrected himself quickly. His glasses reflected the sunlight, obsuring his eyes from view. “The Gyarados’s temper is getting worse…”

“Are all the Pokemon out of the lake?” Blanche asked, noting everyone’s panicky expressions.

“No,” Marcus admitted. “There were a few who couldn’t escape the currents.”

She opened up a 3D map of the bottom of the lake, which showed some places among tall rocks that could only be accessed by small Pokemon, and tallied with the tops of the rocks that were being buffeted by the swirling water. The Gyarados was near the centre of the lake, its huge form thrashing around like Marcus had said, and leaving rough currents and foaming waves in its wake.

“Blastoise, Dewgong, Cloyster,” she called her Pokemon out from their Pokeballs, “I need you to look for any other Pokemon that are trapped in the lake. Don’t attack Gyarados.”

Surprised at the unusual command, they nodded, diving into the lake with ease and grace. It would be some time before they returned, and Blanche decided to return to cataloguing the other Pokemon. It was impossible to escape notice, though, not with so many Trainers around, and she realised that some of them were looking rather expectantly at her. Racking her brain for something to say that would be appropriate for the situation, she finally asked, “Is everyone alright?”

Immediately, as though that had been the question they had been waiting for, everyone began talking all at once.

***

The gym was a tall structure, with a steep, winding staircase leading to the top floor where the Trainers occupying the gym were. The staircase led to a slightly raised circular platform, with rails along its edge that had gaps like doors in between. There was a boy standing on the platform when they arrived, his hair dripping with sweat and face flushed from the exertion of battle. He and his Pelipper secured an easy victory against the opposing Dugtrio, and he returned it to its Pokeball, congratulating it on a good battle and turning to the little group.

“Boy, am I glad you guys came, these people are a tough bunch. I’ve only got Pelipper left, so can one of you please battle the next Trainer?” He had bright eyes, and was wearing an outfit that was almost all blue. “I’m Skylar, by the way,” he continued, panting slightly. “Mystic. Nice to meet you.”

“I’ll battle!” It was Rue. She grinned as she stepped onto the rotating circular platform around the centre circle of the gym, and entered the room hosting the next Trainer in line. Candela watched after her, surprised. It seemed like Lia had been a bigger influence on the girl than she’d thought.

“You’re not battling today, are you?” Spark asked from behind. He was quite on the dot, for, as usual, Candela’s main plans for going to any gym would involve battling. . 

“Wouldn’t hurt to kick up the level of this gym a little,” she replied nonchalantly, picking a Pokeball.

“I like your spirit, Miss Candela,” said a voice from one of the battle rooms. “I would like to challenge you.”

***

“So this Gyarados… appeared  _ out of nowhere _ ?” Blanche said doubtfully. “It had to come from somewhere.” The young trainer’s eyes were wide as he spoke in an excited, high-pitched voice about the Gyarados.

“It did! It wasn’t there, then it was! It came from… from…” he clenched his hand into a fist, then opened it suddenly, “like this! Poof! And - and - it went like… RAAARH!”

“Ah… okay.” Seeing that she wasn’t about to get any information from this kid, Blanche turned around, back to the choppy waves. There was no sign of any of her Pokemon, not even a shadow slipping through the water. With a sinking feeling, she walked over to the next trainer, who was taking care of her Pidgeotto. 

“Do you know where the Gyarados came from?”

The trainer’s red curls bounced as she shook her head. “Sorry, no. When I came it was already there.” She turned to look around at the rest of the trainers there, and continued, “You could ask that group there though, they’re always walking their eggs here. Maybe they saw something.” She gestured at a few trainers nearby, some of whom were clutching incubators or newly hatched Pokemon. 

“It seemed like it came from the left… the  _ west _ side of the lake, I mean,” one boy shouted. “We’ve got to go, these eggs are almost hatching.”

The trainers took off, and Blanche watched as Blastoise led a group of Staryu and Starmie on shore. The Gyarados was still like a spot in the distance, and she felt no closer to figuring this whole thing out than before. The Pokemon GO program was supposed to be a success - a roaring success - but more things had gone wrong than she knew how to deal with.


End file.
